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DEGREE PROJECT IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING,SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITSSTOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2021
Prepaid Digital WaterMeters and theChallenges ofSustainableInnovation
Ahmed Saleh
KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYSCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
AuthorsAhmed Saleh <[email protected]>School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE)KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Place for ProjectStockholm, Sweden
ExaminerDr. Tigran HaasStockholmKTH Royal Institute of Technology
Supervisor
Dr. Andrew Karvonen
Stockholm
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
ii
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Abstract (English) Water scarcity is an increasing problem all over the world. In order to achieve the
sustainable development goals by 2030, safe and affordable access to drinking
water is a key target that needs to be achieved according to SDG6. In order to
secure more drinking water for the future, sustainable innovative water management
strategies that aim better supply and demand management are needed. Digital water
meter is a smart technology that is used as a demand management tool for saving
water quantities, improving the water service provider efficiency and the social
equity. The goal of this project is to see how digital prepaid water meters interpret
and implement the three pillars of urban sustainable development (economic,
environment and social equity) and if this implementation influences the local
infrastructure management policies and politics. Next to the literature, a case study
was taken about the digital prepaid water meters (PWMs) in Palestine. The study
was based on desk-based studies, interviews and online events. The analysis of the
results was done based on five different categories (Policies and Regulations,
Economic, Consumption, Social Equity and finally Politics). The findings showed that
implying such technology directly affects and changes the current policies and
regulations. It helps the water service providers to achieve a financial stability. The
water consumption decreases and it stops the wasteful water practices. The
smartness of the system helped in taking poor and marginalized people into
consideration while applying such technology. Internal and external politics have a
major role to play in order to benefit from PWMs.
Key Words: Digitalization, Sustainable Development, Prepaid Water Meters, Urban
Water Management
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Sammanfattning (Svenska) Brist på vatten är ett växande problem i hela världen. För att nå målen för hållbar
utveckling senast år 2030, är säker och prisvärd tillgång till dricksvatten ett
nyckelmål som måste uppnås enligt SDG6. I takt med att säkra upp mer dricksvatten
för framtiden, krävs strategisk hållbar innovation för att bättre hantera utbud och
efterfråga. Digital vattenmätare med smart teknik används som verktyg för hantering
av vattenbehov i avsikt att spara vatten, förbättra effektiviteten hos
vattenleverantören och skapa social jämlikhet. Syftet med detta projekt är att studera
hur väl digitala vattenmätare anses implementera de tre pelarna inom hållbar
stadsutveckling (ekonomi, miljö och social jämlikhet). Men även om detta utförande
påverkar den lokala regleringen för infrastruktur och politiken. Utöver litteraturen, har
en fallstudie utförts om de digitala förbetalda vattenmätarna (PWMs) i Palestina.
Studien bygger på skrivbordsundersökning, intervjuer och online-evenemang.
Analysen gjordes utifrån fem olika kategorier (reglering och lagstiftning, ekonomi,
konsumtion, social jämlikhet och slutligen politik). Resultatet visade att
implementering av denna teknik påverkar och förändrar gällande reglering och
lagstiftning. Det hjälper vattenleverantörer att uppnå en finansiell stabilitet.
Vattenkonsumtionen minskar och det stoppar slösaktig vattenanvändning.
Systemets smarthet hjälpte till att ta hänsyn till fattiga och marginaliserade
människor när de tillämpar sådan teknik. Intern och extern politik spelar en stor roll
ifall man ska kunna dra nytta av PWM.
Nyckelord: digitalisering, hållbar utveckling, förbetalda vattenmätare,
stadsvattenhantering
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Acknowledgments First and foremost, I must deeply thank my great supervisor Dr. Andrew Karvonen
for all his efforts and help during the whole journey of my thesis. Andrew was not
only a supervisor, but also a friend and a big brother who helped me at each and
every stage of the thesis academically and mentally. I will never forget his
commitment in our weekly follow-up meetings and his quick responses to my queries
and emails. His insightful feedback pushed me to sharpen my thinking and brought
my work to a higher level. I am so honored and grateful that he has been my
supervisor during the last nine months.
Many thanks go without saying to all the interviewees who have offered their time
and help to provide me with the data that I need to complete my project. I have
learned a lot from them about the digital water meters, policies and regulations, and
social equity.
I am grateful for my parents (Ibrahim & Amira) and all my family for their endless
support and love, for keeping me motivated and confident despite the pandemic. My
accomplishments and success are because they believed in me.
At last, I would like to express my deep thanks for all my friends and colleagues;
specially Majed, Razan, Nadja, Qingtao, Francesca and Ximena who were a second
family for me and supported me throughout the last two years of my masters in
Sweden. Without them, this journey would have been much harder.
Ahmed Saleh
Stockholm, September 2021
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Abbreviations
EQA Environmental Quality Authority
JSC Joint Service Council
JWC Joint Water Committee
JWU Jerusalem Water Undertaking
lcd liters per capita per day
LGU local government unit
m3 cubic meter
MCM million cubic meters
MoFP Ministry of Finance and Planning
MoH Ministry of Health
MoLG Ministry of Local Government
NGO nongovernmental organization
NRW nonrevenue water
NWC National Water Company
PA Palestinian Authority
PECS Palestinian Expenditure and Consumption Survey
PWA Palestinian Water Authority
RWU Regional Water Utilities
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SP service providers
VC Village Council
WASH water supply, sanitation and hygiene
WASH-PD WASH Poverty Diagnostic
WBWD West Bank Water Department
WHO World Health Organization
WSRC Water Sector Regulatory Council
WSSA Water Supply and Sanitation Authority
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Table of Contents Abstract (English) .................................................................................................................. 1
Sammanfattning (Svenska) ................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. 3
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ 4
Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 7
1.1 Why Smart Water Meters? .......................................................................................... 7
1.2 Aim of The Project and Research Questions ............................................................... 8
1.3 Outline ......................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2: Background ....................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Water Networks Management ................................................................................... 10
2.2 Water Supply Demand Management ......................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Metering .............................................................................................................. 12
2.2.2 Digitalization of Utilities/Water Networks Management ........................................ 15
2.2.3 Digital Water Meters and Sustainability ............................................................... 16
2.2.4 Digital Prepaid Meters ......................................................................................... 19
2.2.5 Customers’ Perspectives on Drinking Water ....................................................... 22
Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework ...................................................................................... 24
3.1 Urban Water Governance .......................................................................................... 24
3.2 Smart City Governance ............................................................................................. 25
3.3 Tensions Between Smart City and Urban Sustainable Development ......................... 27
3.3.1 Economic Growth ................................................................................................ 27
3.3.2 Distribution of Smart Benefits .............................................................................. 28
3.3.3 Empowerment and Marginalization ..................................................................... 28
3.3.4 Environmental Protection .................................................................................... 29
3.3.5 Cultures of Consumerism .................................................................................... 30
3.3.6 Policies and Regulations ..................................................................................... 31
3.3.7 Politics ................................................................................................................ 31
3.3.8 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 4 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 34
4.1 The Case Study Approach ......................................................................................... 34
4.2 Data Gathering .......................................................................................................... 35
4.3 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 38
4.4 Research Limitations ................................................................................................. 39
Chapter 5 Findings and Analysis ......................................................................................... 40
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5.1 Case Study Description ............................................................................................. 40
5.1.1 Palestine ............................................................................................................. 40
5.1.2 Water Governance Structure in Palestine ........................................................... 43
5.1.3 Prepaid Water Meters Project (PWM) in Palestine .............................................. 49
5.2 Analysis and Discussion ............................................................................................ 50
5.2.1 Policies and Legislations ..................................................................................... 51
5.2.2 Economic ............................................................................................................ 55
5.2.3 Consumption ....................................................................................................... 57
5.2.4 Social Equity ....................................................................................................... 61
5.2.5 Politics ................................................................................................................ 64
Chapter 6: Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 67
6.1 Overall Learnings ...................................................................................................... 67
6.2 Suggestions for future research and concluding remarks .......................................... 69
References ......................................................................................................................... 71
Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 76
Appendix 1 – Information Sheet and Consent Form ........................................................ 76
Appendix 2 - Semi-structures Interview Questions .......................................................... 78
Appendix 3 – Roles and Responsibilities of Water Sector Entities As Defined By The
Palestinian Water Law of 2014. ....................................................................................... 80
Table of Figures Figure 1 Digital Meters Sustainability Taxonomy ................................................................. 19
Figure 2 Organizational and administrative framework of water sector in Palestine ............ 36
Figure 3 Map of Palestine ................................................................................................... 42
Figure 4 Institutional Arrangements in the Water Sector in West Bank ................................ 47
Figure 5 An example of a digital prepaid water meter.......................................................... 50
Figure 6 Water Sector Framework according to the 2002 Water Law .................................. 53
Figure 7 Water Sector Framework according to the 2014 Water Law .................................. 53
Figure 8 Functional structure of the water sector entities according to the 2014 Water Law 55
Table of Tables Table 1 Summary of semi-structured interviews .................................................................. 37
Table 2 Online events attended .......................................................................................... 38
Table 3 Institutional mapping of roles and responsibilities in the water sector according to the
new water law ..................................................................................................................... 48
Table 4 Water Consumption between 2008 (before PWMs) and 2011 (after PWMs) in
northwest of Jenin District ................................................................................................... 60
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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Why Smart Water Meters?
Water scarcity is an increasing global problem. The united nations has put global
access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030 as a key target to
achieve in Goal 6 from the sustainable development goals (United Nations, 2015).
Several countries suffer from a huge deficit between the usable water supply and the
population of local societies that almost reached 785 million people currently living
without basic drinking water services (Evans et al., 2008; WHO, 2019). The
continuous increase in the global population and domestic water demand put huge
stress on the already depleting water resources and decreasing water supply (Evans
et al., 2008). In addition, the global usable water sources are negatively impacted by
climate change (Saghir, 2008), leaving us with the potential that more than half of the
world population will be chronically short of water by 2050 (Evans et al., 2008;
Saghir, 2008). As a result, in order to secure more drinking water trying to meet the
current and future water demand, the global efforts shall focus on two areas;
increasing the fresh water production (by e.g. recycling water and desalination
plants) and, most importantly, better supply and demand management and
conservation efforts must be made to avert water crises in the near future.
Climate change, urbanization, industrialization and the changing socio-economic
conditions are all increasing challenges facing good sustainability management for
the water resources (Alcamo et al., 2007; Weng et al., 2009; Pahl-Wostl, 2007). This
led to an ongoing competition between not only countries but also water service
providers (municipalities, private companies) within the same country trying to
secure as much as possible from the remaining resources, especially in urban areas
(Mitchell, 2006). However, it’s argued that in order to face all these challenges that
are facing the resources, especially the life-threatening ones like water, there is a
strong need for new and innovative water management strategies that help us run
the water resources in a sustainable way as stated by Weng et al. (2009), “the
conventional urban water management approach is highly unsuited to addressing
current and future sustainability issues” (p.1).
8
The implementation of smart technologies such as digital water meters (DWM) has
had many positive impacts on different levels; on saving water quantities at the
property and network level, on improving the efficiencies of water utilities, as well as
on social equity level (Monks et al., 2021). According to Banerjee (2021),
“Digitalization is claimed to revolutionize water utilities in many urban areas across
the world, contributing to urban water security. It involves the use of information
technology, data analysis and electronic monitoring in urban water governance with
significant improvements in quality water services and customer satisfaction.
However, a holistic success story where digitalization of each and every urban water
process and service, is found only in a handful of cities. The challenge in most cases
is not the availability of an appropriate digital technology but the implementation of
the technology” (p.1).
1.2 Aim of The Project and Research Questions
Palestine is among the countries with the scarcest renewable water resources due to
both natural and artificial constraints. At present, the water demand exceeds the
available water supply. The water supply and sanitation sector is confronted with a
number of technical, economic, financial, political and institutional challenges that
jeopardize sustainability of service delivery. The increased demand pressures, lack
or resources and financing urged the Palestinian government to implement a digital
innovative solution using digital prepaid water meters (PWM) that can help solving
the water problem. A strong debate has been going on in the last twelve years
questioning the pros and cons and efficiency of such a smart technological system to
build a sustainable water sector and the project is going relatively slowly. This
research aims to take the case study of smart digital prepaid water meters in
Palestine as an example of how smart and sustainable are being combined and
analyze the interactions between this smart technology and sustainability by focusing
on five tensions (policies and legislations, economic, consumption, social equity and
finally politics). The project will try to answer the following research questions:
9
RQ1: How do digital prepaid water meters interpret and implement urban sustainable
development goals?
RQ2: How does the implementation of PWMs influence local infrastructure
management policies?
1.3 Outline
This report starts with a literature review in chapter 2 about water networks
management and the digitalization of utilities. It shows among other stuff, the relation
between the digital water meters and the urban sustainable development. After that,
the report continues with a description about the conceptual and theoretical
framework that was used to analyze the chosen case study. Then the methodology
that was used throughout the study is explained in chapter 4 followed by a
description for the chosen case study and analysis of the findings and results in
chapter 5. At the end, the overall learnings with some suggestions for future
research and some concluding remarks are included in chapter 6.
10
Chapter 2: Background This chapter provides general information and a description of the background of the
topic. It starts by briefly illustrating the water networks management and water
supply, followed by metering and finally sustainable urban development. A literature
review was conducted to describe and examine how other researchers have studied
the topic and wrote about it. Many sources were reviewed in order to better
comprehend the background and theoretical notions of the main topic, including
scholarly journals, earlier research papers, and other more diverse sources
(webpages, telecommunication networks, etc.). The literature has been carefully
chosen to provide a review that is both targeted and of general interest, with both
new and older studies included.
2.1 Water Networks Management
Urban water management has different approaches; one of them is the conventional
approach that the primary goal of it is the supply of water, meaning the focus is “on
finding new sources of supply to address perceived new demands” (Gleick, 2000,
p.127). While this approach has shown to be generally ineffective in supplying
enough water quantities to meet the demand, some authors have observed a
persistent but significant aversion to change (Lach et al., 2005; Mitchell, 2006; Wong
& Brown, 2008). According to research, several towns and water utilities are
continuing to implement water management policies that are based on conventional
wisdom and fail to meet the growing issues they face. This could be due in part to a
lack of agreement on what the goals of a new approach to urban water management
should be or how it should look. Furthermore, urban water systems cannot be readily
or quickly retrofitted from an operational standpoint, and there are several variables
that limit change beyond the formulation of a new theoretical management approach.
Therefore, despite the growing understanding that a new approach to water
management is needed, in the opinion of Brown and Farrelly (2009): “urban water
management remains a complex and fragmented area relying on traditional,
technical, linear management approaches” (p.839).
However, numerous academic researchers have recently advocated for a paradigm
shift in the way urban water is managed in order to preserve the sustainability of
11
water resources. This push for changes in water management is not new in the
realm of urban water management, and a historical review shows that there have
been a number of shifts over time. Changing socio-political challenges, such as
guaranteeing adequate access to clean water, preserving public health from disease
transmission, and flood mitigation, prompted these changes. In his overview of the
history of urban water supply development in the United States, Blake (1956)
describes the early drivers of urban water system improvements: first, to meet the
basic human need for water, as well as for fire suppression, then to mitigate disease
spread and for hygienic reasons. Lund (2015) furthers this point, stating that “most
fundamentally, societies manage water to improve public health and safety, support
economic and recreational activities, and sustain a socially desired environment”
(p.590). In the same vein, Brown et al. (2009) characterized “six distinct, yet
cumulative, transitional stages in the development of urban water management
across Australian cities” (p.850) and identified the principal drivers for each stage
that include access to water, public health protection, flood protection, environmental
protection, natural resource limitations, and the last stage, climate change resilience
and intergenerational equity (the yet unattained ‘water sensitive city’) (Brown et al.,
2009).
2.2 Water Supply Demand Management
Water is a critical resource. It sustains human life and culture, as well as ecological
and economic functions. However, in many developed/developing countries, water
demand is growing at a rate that is outpacing traditional supply sources. To manage
the gaps between water supply and demand, a variety of methods have been
created. (Hurlimann et al., 2009). Thus, rather than increasing freshwater production
(through desalination or water recycling, for example) to meet current demand – and
thus further depleting already rapidly diminishing resources – better supply and
demand management, as well as conservation efforts, are required to avoid future
water crises (Sønderlund et al., 2014). In general, there are two approaches to
reduce and control water consumption: large-scale regulatory and infrastructure
action and individual conservation initiatives in the home and community. The first
strategy often entails water consumption monitoring and limitations (using water
meters for example), increased pricing, and customized water rates, as well as the
12
installation of more efficient irrigation and water recycling technology, as well as
enhancements to treatment plants. Domestic water conservation is the second way,
which entails putting in place strategies that result in water savings through changing
the individual’s behavior (Sønderlund et al., 2014).
2.2.1 Metering
A service provider (SP) (e.g. municipality, water private company) cannot manage
his networks and water resources without first determining how much water it has
and where it travels. Water meters are used to measure how much raw water is
taken from a resource such as a large dam, how much of this water leaves the water
treatment plant, how much is purchased from bulk suppliers or sold to other
municipalities, how the water is distributed within the water distribution system, and
finally, how much of the water is deliriously distributed. In a nutshell, water metering
is a water supply and demand management tool. It is used by service providers to
quantify water bills, detect leaks, monitor water usage, and plan supply (Maddaus,
2001). Water meters that are not properly managed might have a detrimental
influence on a service provider's income. However, if water metering is done
appropriately, it can boost a municipality's or service provider's net income while also
empowering personnel to run the distribution system as efficiently as possible.
Water metering is particularly essential for municipalities because it is the source of
a significant portion of their revenue from the sale of water to their customers.
Municipalities are required by law in most countries throughout the world to meter
users and manage water losses in accordance with legislation and standards. Many
towns and bulk water suppliers, on the other hand, lack the capacity to implement
and manage optimum and integrated meter calibration, replacement, reading, and
information management systems. Bad billing, improper information capture, and
poor maintenance are frequently the result of the division of duty between billing and
meter administration (which is typical of institutional arrangements within most
towns). This is exacerbated by the fact that if water demand management and
conservation programs are necessary, the data is not readily available to the
departments in charge, resulting in a lack of integration between domestic (for
household use level) and bulk (for network use level) water metering.
13
2.2.1.1 Why Water Metering
Water metering is a great example of the idea "to measure, is to know," and knowing
what's going on with the water in a distribution system is crucial to effectively
manage this resource. When an integrated water meter management plan is
properly implemented, it offers win-win situations for all suppliers and consumers
involved. While there are several direct and indirect benefits to water metering, there
are four primary reasons for a thorough metering scheme:
● Equity: Comprehensive water metering establishes a fair basis for pricing
customers based on how much water they use. It holds customers
responsible for their own water consumption and gives them control over how
much they pay for the service. It also allows for fair cross-subsidization and
the provision of a basic amount of water to needy clients.
● Water Use Efficiency and Losses: Water that is supplied to consumers is
taken from the environment, so conserving water has immediate
environmental advantages. High population density locations may not always
have adequate natural water supplies, necessitating the costly transfer of
water from other areas. Municipalities are compelled to deliver water on an
as-needed basis in the worst-case scenario, with disastrous effects for water
quality, pipelines, and water meters. Metering demonstrates to customers the
value of water and provides strong incentives for them to utilize it more
efficiently. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that simply installing water
meters reduces water consumption. In the United Kingdom, metered
households consume 10-15% less water than unmetered homes. In Canada,
this disparity was found to reach up to 50%. Water meters are critical for
monitoring water consumption and ensuring that consumers follow water
restrictions when water is scarce. Municipal engineers can determine the
degree of water losses in a water supply system and discover unlawful
connections by comparing the readings on network and customer water
meters. Although all water networks lose some water, the amount of water
loss must be constantly monitored and maintained to avoid exceeding
unacceptably high levels. A well-placed metering system in the distribution
system will also make it easier for technical employees to locate big leaks.
14
● Economic Benefits: Most water accounts are based on measured use, which
has a direct impact on municipal revenue; water meters are the cash registers
of water suppliers. As a result, a well-managed and accurate water meter
system will provide a means for the water supplier to bill consumers for the
services that they provide. Many of the technical advantages of water meters,
such as correctly monitoring municipal water purchases, decreasing water
losses and detecting and deleting illegal connections, also improve municipal
budgets.
● System Management: Water meters are necessary for determining how much
water is delivered and where it goes on a technical level. Water meters are
used to monitor the amount of water that enters a water network supply
system, whether it comes from raw water sources, treatment plants, or bulk
water providers. Consumer meters are used to measure how much water is
given to each metered consumer in the system. Meters in the distribution
network measure where the water is transported to and customer meters are
used to measure how much water is provided to each metered consumer in
the system. A pipe of a specific diameter can only transport a certain amount
of flow. Therefore as water demands rise due to economic growth or new
developments, pipes must be changed. The same can be said for municipal
storage tanks, pumps, and other network components. Technical staff
analyzes water meter data to understand the water demand patterns in the
system and to estimate future demands in order to identify and plan for
problems caused by network components. The demand data is essential for
developing accurate computer models for simulating water distribution
systems, determining the causes of hydraulic issues such as low pressures,
predicting future issues, and planning system expansions and improvements.
A dependable and well-run distribution system with a healthy profit margin reflects
favorably on the system's administration. It enhances the municipality's public image
by providing customers with better, more dependable service and accurate bills. A
good metering system provides data that helps decision-makers to make educated
decisions about capital investments, maintenance, staffing, and other aspects of the
15
water delivery system (Boyle et al., 2013). The bottom line is that a comprehensive
water meter management system allows a municipality to improve its financial
resources while also providing better services to the community. That’s why for the
sake of continuous development and with all the new developed technologies around
the world such as digital tools, artificial intelligence (AI) and information and
communication technology (ICT), there has also been some projects in order to try to
apply such technologies in the water sector starting from meters ending up with
control room. Recognizing the value of traditional metering while being enticed by
the opportunities presented by new technology (e.g., reduced labor costs for meter
reading), utilities are increasingly considering new digital metering as a potential way
to secure water supply, reduce waste, and control costs while also transforming the
customer-utility relationship (Giurco et al., 2008).
2.2.2 Digitalization of Utilities/Water Networks Management
2.2.2.1 Digital Water Meters
For many water users, reading water meters is still a manual procedure, not only in
impoverished nations but even in affluent countries, where meter readers must walk
reading routes (Liu and Mukheibir, 2017; Boyle et al., 2013; Goldenstein, 2015).
Many utilities have replaced the manual procedure with digital water metering
(DWM) in the semi-manual form of automated meter reading or the fully automated
advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology since the early 1990s. DWM is
used in a variety of circumstances to collect data on water use at medium
frequencies (typically hourly) for operational purposes where meter access
challenges (e.g., high-rise buildings), extreme weather, and remoteness locations
must be overcome (Thiemann et al., 2011; Water, 2019; Nguyen et al., 2013). The
usage of DWM for properties has resulted in significant water savings at both the
property and network levels, as well as significant operational efficiencies (Thiemann
et al., 2011; March et al., 2017). According to a study of numerous research
published in 2017, water savings from the use of DWM might range from 3% to 8%.
(Liu and Mukheibir, 2017). Without DWM, water utilities are forced to rely on a single
reading per billing cycle (typically monthly or quarterly) to limit the impact of hidden
leaks on consumers and gain insight from customer segments (Boerema et al.,
2017; Monks et al., 2019). When read at hourly intervals for each property, the one
16
reading collected quarterly becomes 2200 digital meter readings with DWM. There
are over 26,000 readings at 5-min intervals and over 1.5 million at 5-s intervals with
higher frequency data logging. Data analysts with engineers, customer service
workers, and finance employees have been able to build new tools and strategies for
water management by the ability to analyze data at these levels of detail to model
the past, regulate the present, and anticipate the future (Cominola et al., 2015;
Nguyen et al., 2018; Gurung et al., 2014; Rahim et al., 2020). Many more potential
has been imagined by futurists, such as multi-service utilities, data analytics, and
next-generation services (Clarke, 2013).
Despite these advantages, DWM has its detractors and skeptics (Stop Smart Meters
Australia Inc, 2018). The digital meter implementation in Victoria, Australia, for
example, enraged many customers and presented challenges for future digital
technology use in utilities. The introduction of water metering and billing in the
southeast of England was intended to encourage consumers to be more efficient
with their water consumption, but it resulted in water poverty for certain customers
(Nash, 2014). However, Zetland (2016) believed that the issue of water poverty was
simply exposed by the water charges, which meters could assist in alleviating. In
South Africa, where customers have entrenched non-payment attitudes, attempts
have been made to put digital meters with supply restrictions, cut-off controls, or pre-
payment restrictions (Ngabirano, 2017). On the minimally literate dwellers of informal
settlements, complex operational norms were enforced. While the project's goal was
to improve demand-side management, when meter failures disrupted supply to
customers, supply was stopped when daily quotas were exceeded, water credits
were not carried over to the next period, and self-disconnections occurred, mass
protests, threats to water staff, and vandalism were common (Ngabirano, 2017).
2.2.3 Digital Water Meters and Sustainability
Water is vital to environmental management, sustainability, and our daily life. There
is a sense of urgency around the world to improve water efficiency and management
in order to achieve water resource sustainability and address the difficulties of rising
urbanization. According to Rutherfurd and Finlayson (2011), the population number
is less essential than population management of water resources. Water security
responses have focused on both the supply and demand sides of water use.
17
To operate prudently and efficiently, water utilities seek economic efficiencies. These
efficiencies enable them to keep prices low for their clients while providing services
and expanding their assets to meet future demands. They can take use of additional
chances to participate in the circular economy (CE), in which economic advantages
are raised while resource use is reduced (Kakwani and Lalbar, 2020). Water is a
resource that can be reduced, reused, recycled, and recovered in a natural cycle.
Water meters are expensive per unit and fit into the CE paradigm. While the
importance of digital meters in promoting economic sustainability is recognized, they
are three times more expensive than manual meters, emphasizing the need for them
to have longer lives and be recyclable (ibid).
Social fairness is a critical component of long-term viability. The attempt to solve
infrastructural shortcomings causing water wastage and quality issues with metering
and volumetric water tariffs was regarded as a new tax in Ireland and the United
Kingdom and revealed community water poverty. Irish Water refunded residential
water payments, reverted to just billing business customers, instituted an excess
water tax for households, and created their First Fix Free program in an attempt to
relieve payment stress in the UK. Water providers in Australia provide social justice
benefits through hardship programs. Plumbing aid, financial assistance programs,
and payment options, including debt write-off, are all available to poor consumers. All
clients, regardless of financial hardship, are eligible for compensation for excessive
bills caused by hidden leaks. Customers may not be aware of these leaks for months
until they receive a large bill or the water provider notices an unusually high meter
reading.
1. Environmental Benefits
Human consumption of natural resources must occur at a rate that allows them to
replenish themselves in order for the environment to remain sustainable (University
of Alberta, 2019). The environmental benefits of digital water meters have been
divided into three categories: energy, water, and planning. Reduced pumping and
major elimination of vehicle used for leak investigation and detection, as well as
vehicle use for meter reading, are among the energy-saving benefits found in Utility
Costs. Reduced wastage, conservation initiatives, regulatory monitoring, and new
goods and services that improve end-use efficiency are all ways to save water.
18
Reduced water usage, decreased aquifer and other groundwater drawdown, and
reduced energy use for pumping, wastewater recovery, treatment, and desalination.
Network planning, as well as new knowledge about consumer segments and time of
use, result in cost savings through better planning. While water theft decrease may
be considered an economic advantage, some experts consider it an environmental
benefit because the water would not be used unless it was taken.
2. Economic Benefits
Human communities can keep their independence and have access to the resources
they require to meet their needs through sustainable economic growth (University of
Alberta, 2019). The digital water meters provide long-term benefits to the water utility
by reducing operating and capital costs, which may be diverted into the company's
infrastructure or technology. Furthermore, the use of data for optimum operational
and capital costs, decreased risk margins, and process redesign and elimination that
takes use of the ability to optimize company activities, avoiding inefficient manual
meter reading, as well as data analytics. The data can help with sustainability by
lowering water use and minimizing water and energy waste. During droughts, the
effectiveness of voluntary and regulated water restrictions becomes quantifiable and
simpler to implement. These modifications enable water providers to minimize
consumer costs or reduce cost-increasing pressures.
3. Social Equity Benefits
Social equity requires universal human rights and basic necessities being attainable
by all people to keep their families and communities healthy and secure (University
of Alberta, 2019). Customer satisfaction, the average rating of overall quality of
service, the total number of complaints, and billing and account complaints per 1000
properties are all factors that contribute to sustainable social equality (Sydney Water,
2011). They also looked at social assistance requests for installment or postponed
payment arrangements, as well as how often they were used. Benefits allow cost
savings from customer contacts and assistance programs to be transferred to those
in the community who are most in need. Reduced customer support needs, allowing
support resources and cost savings to be directed to those most in need or used in
other ways. Figure 1 that was presented by Monks et al., (2019) shows the different
themes and subthemes that are affected by using the digital meters.
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Figure 1 Digital Meters Sustainability Taxonomy
2.2.4 Digital Prepaid Meters
A digital prepaid water meter (PWM) is a specific electronic water meter that controls
the creation of a water quota based on earlier payments, as well as the automated
cutting-off of supply when credit is insufficient (when use reaches the assigned limit)
(APF, 2006). PWM is an extreme example of applying full cost recovery directly to
the family level, regardless of income or ability to pay, making it easier to administer
and budget (LaRRI, 2004). The technical and operational capabilities of the PWM
are identical to that of typical mechanical water meters, with the difference that the
PWM has a particular digital box and keyboard assigned to control the water bill in
advance, as well as a card port for charging via (Johansburge water, 2006). The
concept of water metering is not new, and its implementation has been widely
accepted in most circumstances, with the consumer being held accountable for
affordability and required to pay for water services. Prepaid meters are one approach
to make work easier by delegating responsibility away from the government, society,
and service providers, lowering costs and improving revenues (LaRRI, 2004). The
20
only difference that distinguishes PWM is that the user must pay before obtaining the
service, with automatic supply cutting-off when the discharge reaches the allotted
quantities (OFWCC, 2004).
A PWM can measure the amount of water consumed as well as persuade water
users to pay for it. Promoting payment (Drakeford, 1998); recovering debt (Dore et
al., 2004); minimizing administrative costs (Jaglin, 2002); and transforming political
connections between the service institution and water users are just a few of the
management functions a PWM can accomplish (Harvey, 2005; LaRRI, 2005; Marvin
et al., 1999). Water pricing, according to Savenije and Van der Zaag (2002), should
allow water service institutions to be financially self-sustaining in terms of operation
and maintenance. The prices should allow the institutions to be financially self-
sufficient, function in a sustainable manner, achieve full cost recovery, and save for
future investments. Tariff management, load and flow profiling, load control,
information provision, and network efficiency are all possible applications for the
meters (Marvin et al., 1999). PWM, for example, may enable the use of various rates
to manage demand in the event of water scarcity. PWM, according to Buckle (2004),
is a superior water demand management (WDM) technology to traditional water
meters. According to the author, traditional meters give service providers very little
control over payment consistency. The automatic termination of water supply using
PWM allows service providers a degree of control. Domestic water consumers are
forced to restrict the amount of water they use with pre-paid water metering in order
to avoid running out of water and to avoid paying excessive water expenses. Water
savings achieved through prudent water usage, among other things, help to
minimize future exploitation of water supplies while also lowering the volume of water
pollution produced each day.
On the other hand, opponents of PWM, citing declarations such as "Water as a
Human Right" and "Meeting Basic Need with Free Basic Services for All," refuse to
accept the idea of digital prepaid water meters and cost recovery (APF, 2006). The
PWM has been accused of being the clearest expression of a commitment to the
profit motive over people's needs, treating water as a big business, prioritizing
market ethics and profit motives over people's needs, turning water provision into a
profit-making exercise rather than a social good that must be provided for all (LaRRI,
21
2004). PWM, according to the World Bank, can "ease cost recovery and promote
private sector participation in water service provision." With the dread of running out
of water when credit is unavailable, inhabitants' health and hygiene are jeopardized,
particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods where households are simply unable to
afford the higher water prices (World Bank, 1994). Furthermore, consumers are
concerned that PWM does not understand crises, which prevents them from
obtaining additional credit when a force majeure event occurs, such as a fire hazard
or acts of war (Kumwenda, 2006). It's also debatable if installing PWM in the poorest
neighborhoods has a negative impact on community social and environmental
circumstances, leading to water theft and illegal hookups. Poor families are forced to
reduce their water consumption, use untreated water, and make difficult trade-offs
between water and food, medicine, school fees, transportation, and other essential
goods and services, potentially exposing the most vulnerable people to diseases that
could have been avoided (Bond, 2008).
Since their introduction in the United Kingdom, these meters have gained popularity
in nations such as Brazil, Egypt, Uganda, Curacao, Nigeria, Tanzania, Swaziland,
Sudan, Malawi, Namibia, and South Africa. The common evidence indicated that the
prepaid water supply system imposed on the poor is hazardous to the environment,
socially, politically, and morally. Prepayment meters are a menace to public health,
according to the UK's 1998 Water Act, and water shutoffs are an undesirable
manner of collecting the unpaid debt (LaRRI, 2004). Poor residents in the so-called
"colonies" in the city of Lardo, Texas, had to travel to wait in lines for a turn on the
pumps where the PWM was installed and then transport water to their homes, while
in Madlebe, a rural area in South Africa, a system was implemented where each
household had to buy a plastic card with the option of buying additional "units" of
water. Many individuals couldn't afford clean water between 2000 and 2002,
resulting in a severe cholera outbreak that killed 259 people. In the case of Orange
Farm Township, south of Johannesburg, South Africa, the Anti-Privatization Forum,
along with a number of other organizations and individuals, formed the ‘Against
PWM' alliance in 2003 to fight water privatization, and the High Court of
Johannesburg declared them illegal in 2008. (APF, 2006; OFWCC, 2004).
22
2.2.5 Customers’ Perspectives on Drinking Water
Until quite recently, water service providers didn’t give so much thought to the
customer’s perspective or preference when it comes to water quantity and quality.
For water engineers and professionals, they only cared about delivering safe and
high-quality water to public at an affordable price where customers are represented
as ‘number of connections’ or ‘the demand side of the water network’ (Hegger et al.,
2011; Southerton, 2011; Brouwer et al., 2018). Today, water service providers are
interested in knowing the world beyond the meter and explore subjective views and
preferences. In a study for Brouwer et al. (2019), he concluded that four customer
perspectives on drinking water can distinguished as following:
1. Perspective 1: aware & committed
This perspective is idealistic where it depends on the efforts of the society in which
every individual is responsible for their own actions to be more sustainable (Brouwer
et al., 2019). These sustainable efforts that affect both nature and humans positively
are much valued such as water-saving efforts. This perspective depends on
increasing the awareness, commitment and understanding of water management
and environmental challenges as this would inspire more people to be more eco-
friendly and take the right decisions when it comes to water (ibid). For example,
using reused water for watering gardens and toilets instead of clean drinking water.
The provision of open and real-time data on the consumption and quality of drinking
water is believed to result in more conscious and environmentally friendly behaviour,
especially when these data are accompanied with tailored advice on, for instance,
water-saving practices (ibid).
2. Perspective 2: down to earth & confident
People with this perspective like to take it easy when it comes to water and consider
that it’s the water companies’ responsibility to think about water and don’t like to
bother themselves thinking about that (Brouwer et al., 2019). This perspective
emphasizes the importance that water companies stick to their core task of ensuring
adequate, healthy water of good quality in the most efficient way possible. People
with this perspective don’t see any problems with water in the future because they
believe that water professionals and technological solutions would solve any future
23
people (ibid). From a convenience perspective, the availability of water without
mandatory water use restrictions is regarded as important, as is the availability of
drinking water in the public space. Initiatives such as the reuse of rainwater are
regarded as unattractive, especially when accompanied by ‘personal hassle’ (ibid).
3. Perspective 3: egalitarian & solidary
This perspective’s followers believe the most in equality, caring for others and that
drinking water is a human right that everyone on this earth should have access to
(Brouwer et al., 2019). According to this perspective, water should be managed in a
sustainable way and shouldn’t be wasted since it doesn’t only belong to current
people but also to future generations. Therefore, water sector should stay pubic and
the privatization of it should be avoided at any price as that would lead to less water
quality with higher costs, as a result of which the accessibility of water for the
financially weak might be jeopardized (ibid). The solidarity and social commitment of
this perspective doesn’t only focus on the society of that country, but goes
internationally and believes that water companies at any country have social duty to
help other countries where clean and reliable drinking water is not self-evident (ibid).
4. Perspective 4: quality & health concerned
For this perspective, the quality of drinking water and the personal health are the
dominant values (Brouwer et al., 2019). Healthy means that water should be as
natural as possible without adding any substances. People who follow this
perspective fear recycled water and have concerns about water extracted from
locations with industrial, agricultural or urban planning activities (ibid). They also
have concerns about the quality of water in the future and believe that water
companies should invest in improving and guaranteeing the quality of water in the
future (ibid).
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Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework in this study is introduced to provide a way to analyze the
sustainability characteristics of digital prepaid water meters projects according to the
tensions between the smart city (as digitalization of water meters is part of the smart
city) and the goals of sustainable urban development. It serves as the foundation of
the study and as a tool to shape the research between digital infrastructure and
sustainability while assisting the study in making meaning of the findings. The
conceptual framework was adapted from existing research by Martin et al. (2018).
The slight adaptation to meet the research purpose was made possible because the
conceptual frameworks, by being based on flexible conceptual terms, are open to
modification which gave enough space to add and edit to Martin’s framework in this
study. In the previous chapter, the pros and cons of digital and prepaid water meters
and the relation between these meters the sustainability were discussed. Martin’s
framework will help to analyze the interactions between digital water meters (as part
of the smart city) and sustainability.
3.1 Urban Water Governance
Water management perspectives have changed as new dimensions have been
added, particularly regarding the ecological functions of water and the diversity of
water bodies. This enriched the technical and scientific understanding of the diverse
waters, their complexity and the need for greater interaction and balance, which
became an essential management reference.
It is widely acknowledged that the global ‘water crisis’ is, in fact, a ‘governance
crisis.’ Several fora and organizations, including the Global Water Partnership
(GWP) and the United Nations (UN), called for improved water governance and
policy integration. The UN also considers that important factors influencing water
management are beyond water policy in the strictest sense. This evolution has
highlighted the inadequacy of traditional water planning practices and ‘Water
Governance’ appeared as a new concept to be included in the political arena. GWP
defines water governance as “the range of political, social, economic and
administrative systems in place to develop and manage water resources and deliver
water services, at different societal levels” (GWP, 2003, p.7).
25
Following the need for an institutional framework that shifts from reforms in water
policy and law to effective implementation of water governance, analytical
frameworks have been developed for several components of Integrated Water
Management (IWM), namely to assess the governance of water utilities and
services, to conduct institutional analysis, to assess the performance of water
institutions, to assess the relationship between water governance and poverty, to
assess the governance of wastewater utilities, to examine water security in the
context of transboundary freshwater management, and to make a comparative
analysis of governance in the provision of sanitation and water supply services
(Neto, 2016).
As the world becomes more urbanized, with new and increasing pressures on water
resources, water managers and urban planners are facing new challenges, requiring
an integrated approach for land and water uses, and consideration of the city as an
urban ecosystem with its own metabolism (Neto, 2016). Additionally, cities around
the world face the violent impact of extreme climate phenomena with unpredictable
flooding and water shortages due to droughts (ibid).
Farrelly and Brown (2009) contribute to this discussion with the concept of
sustainable urban water management (SUWM), noting that it is widely accepted that
a shift from the traditional, linear, ‘old-world’ approach to an adaptive, participatory
and integrated approach is required. The idea of managing urban water as a ‘total
water cycle’ is confounding because it challenges traditional and technical
management practices, but urban water policies are beginning to reflect the
philosophy of fit-for-purpose and decentralization. For Farrelly, the rhetoric is,
nevertheless, not often translated into practice, with consistent failure to go beyond
ad hoc demonstration projects (Farrelly and Brown, 2009, p.839).
3.2 Smart City Governance
Current water infrastructure network management is based on a top-down model
approach, which carries a number of assumptions and often uses out-of-date
consumption data. Using smart technologies (such as smart meters) extensively
eliminates these assumptions by allowing the inclusion of empirical demand-induced
26
diurnal patterns, which can be updated in a network model instantaneously, thereby
ensuring a more robust and dynamic water supply network analysis (Gurung et al.
2014).
In a nutshell, smart city technology is thought to offer creative answers to a variety of
socioeconomic and environmental issues that cities face. While government- and
private-sector-led technological solutions are pushed to the forefront of smart city
governance and decision-making processes, a participatory approach has been
emphasized as well, emphasizing the importance of citizens as co-creators and
collaborators in the public value creation that underpins smart city governance and
decision-making (Tan and Taeihagh, 2020). Smart city governance also includes
involving residents in the building of smart cities and cross-sector collaborations
involving various levels of actors, including citizens. Fundamentally, citizens are
central actors in society, and smart city development should consider how ordinary
residents might benefit from a push toward infusing intelligence into various modes
of city operations (ibid).
This idea of the smart (digital-entrepreneurial) city has recently been linked to
sustainable city visions. Caragliu et al. (2011), for example, argue that smart city
ideas provide a governance model in which social fairness and environmental
conservation may coexist with technologically catalyzed economic growth. With its
digitally mediated, efficient, and integrated infrastructure, the smart city is positioned
as a facilitator of sustainable development by bringing environmental protection,
social fairness, and economic development together.
Smart city governance processes may be significantly more complicated for some
developing countries that are still working to meet all people's basic requirements.
Furthermore, increasing rural-to-urban migration will put additional ecological, social,
and infrastructure constraints on many emerging countries' big cities (Tan and
Taeihagh, 2020). Approximately 55 percent of the world's population lives in cities as
of 2018, and this trend is anticipated to continue over the next few decades. The
majority of the 43 megacities (cities with populations of 10 million or more) are
predicted to be in developing countries by 2030 (ibid). Nonetheless, the high
financial costs of infrastructure upkeep and the large informal sectors in
27
underdeveloped nations present distinct difficulties to governments' smart city goals
that must be addressed. Furthermore, prioritizing technology as the cornerstone of
smart city development without aligning it with public ideals or comprehending the
scope of citizens' basic requirements will turn smart cities into "white elephants."
Given the necessity in developing countries to reconcile social requirements with
technological growth, a better understanding of how smart cities might be controlled
in the face of competing for developmental problems becomes critical (ibid).
3.3 Tensions Between Smart City and Urban Sustainable
Development
Governments and the commercial sector are increasingly promoting smart cities as
the key means of achieving urban sustainability (Martin et al., 2018). The smart city
is envisioned as a place where digital technology is used to ‘solve' urban
sustainability concerns, particularly in Europe and North America. Such views have
been widely criticized in the urban studies literature for reflecting techno-utopian,
neoliberal approaches to urban development that allow corporations to impose
control over cities, although there has been no empirical support for these criticisms
(ibid).
According to Martin et al. (2018), there are five tensions between the smart city and
the goals of sustainable urban development that include; economic growth,
distribution of smart benefits, empowerment and marginalization, environmental
protection and finally, cultures of consumerism.
This conceptual framework is used in this study to identify the key tensions in the
case study. It has been adapted to this particular project and its own study interests
by selecting only the relevant tensions and adding new ones based on what's
happening on the ground, like policies and legislations and politics.
3.3.1 Economic Growth
The empirical research found a consistent emphasis on economic growth within
smart city projects, with a tendency to encourage economic growth at the expense of
environmental protection and social equity (de Wijs et al., 2016; Crivello, 2014).
Critics contend that the smart city vision's core goal of economic expansion is
28
incompatible with fostering social equity and environmental protection (Martin et al.,
2018). From the standpoint of social equity, the market is responsible for distributing
financial gains from economic growth, which tends to create economic disparity
rather than promote social equity (Piketty, 2014). Critics contend that economic
expansion relies on, and causes, greater demand for resources, materials, and
accelerated environmental degradation from the standpoint of environmental
protection (Martin et al., 2018). Water service provision's sustainability is heavily
reliant on cost recovery (Savenije and Van der Zaag, 2002). The greatest way to
improve water services is to recover costs through proper price (Merrifield and
Collinge, 1999; Mehta and Pathak, 1998). Cost recovery (through water meters
either by pre or post-payment) is considered as a means of maintaining the financial
sustainability of water services institutions, not as a means of achieving economic
efficiency by pricing water at its economical price. Water payment is thus an
important part of cost recovery and follows the IWRM principles (Savenije and Van
der Zaag, 2002).
3.3.2 Distribution of Smart Benefits
The benefits of digital innovation, according to critics of the smart city idea, will be
unevenly distributed throughout metropolitan populations, with gains accruing mostly
to the wealthy (Martin et al., 2018). According to Hollands (2014), the smart city is
part of a bigger neoliberal vision of an urban utopia in which affluent residents lead
perfect worker-consumer lives. Residents who lack the financial means to enjoy
these ideal worker-consumer lifestyles in the smart city are pushed out. Concerns
about the unequal distribution of the advantages of digital innovation stem from a
direct and visible conflict between the goals of social equity promotion and the
establishment of two-speed smart cities (Martin et al., 2018). Meanwhile, there was
no evidence of smart city measures being undertaken to ensure that the advantages
of digital innovation were distributed fairly.
3.3.3 Empowerment and Marginalization
Critics have expressed fears that, rather than promoting social fairness, the digital
technologies driving the building of smart cities may weaken and marginalize
individuals. Citizens creating digital connections with smart urban infrastructure is
frequently framed as part of the smart city discourse (Caragliu and Del Bo, 2012).
29
Citizens will be able to make better (i.e., more efficient) decisions using data
generated by smart infrastructure, as well as engage in urban governance via digital
democracy platforms (Viitanen and Kingston, 2014). In the case of the former, critics
argue that participation in these ways forces citizens to become sensors and data
providers, either knowingly or inadvertently. Citizens are thus instrumentalized as
another efficient component of the digital infrastructure rather than being empowered
to participate in the smart city (Gabrys, 2014). In contrast, in certain publications and
in many cases around the world, municipalities' desire to embrace digital
technologies to empower residents and improve citizen inclusion in urban
administration was commonplace. These smart city initiatives, especially in Europe,
underlined the desire to create digital platforms that would allow citizens to
participate (Martin et al., 2018).
When it comes to smart water meters, citizens' attitudes toward these meters were
divided into positive and negative categories. According to Marah et al. (2004), a
national poll in South Africa found that the majority of respondents had a favorable
attitude regarding digital water meters. Furthermore, according to Johannesburg
Water (2006), people preferred smart meters since it came with better water services
when it was implemented. In addition, the usage of smart meters was seen as a way
to save water. On the other hand, Deedat and Cottle (2002: 91) go a step further in
explaining this negative attitude by pointing out some of the issues with digital water
meters. They argue that the experiences in Madlebe (KwaZulu-Natal) show that new
smart meters have significant flaws, including high water pricing, health risks,
frequent outages, a lack of a backup system, and an inability to respond quickly to
system failures. The public's dissatisfaction with these issues led to opposition to the
usage of the new smart technology.
3.3.4 Environmental Protection
The smart city vision hinges on the integration of digital technologies with grey urban
infrastructure (Martin et al., 2018). These technologies are projected to make it
possible to integrate and optimize grey infrastructure, resulting in significant
increases in operational efficiency. Claims that such efficiency gains will preserve the
environment, on the other hand, have been criticized as greenwashing (Viitanen and
Kingston, 2014; Yigitcanlar and Lee, 2014). Companies wanting to establish new
30
markets for their products, as well as municipalities seeking to save money, utilize a
superficial concern for the environment to justify digitizing urban infrastructure
(Gabrys, 2014; Hollands, 2014; Viitanen and Kingston, 2014; Wiig, 2016).
However, when it comes to water, according to (McKenzie et al., 2003), digital water
meters can promote a water conservation attitude. The reason for this is that water
pricing has the potential to impact water use (De Azevedo and Baltar, 2005). The
latter being a crucial component in guaranteeing environmental sustainability. For
example, the majority of water users in Klipheuwel (South Africa) had a favorable
attitude toward water conservation and these smart meters encouraged people to
save water (Hajispyrou et al., 2002).
3.3.5 Cultures of Consumerism
Critics argue that consumerist cultures ingrained in the smart city idea are
incompatible with environmental conservation since they encourage ever-increasing
levels of material and resource consumption, as well as accompanying
environmental damage (Martin et al., 2018). The potential environmental benefits of
smart technologies, which are projected to lessen consumerism's environmental
impacts, are likely to be modest (Viitanen and Kingston, 2014). Smart energy
meters, for example, appear to be limited in their capacity to reduce energy usage
for at least three reasons. First, current smart meter designs are founded on the
notion that when customers are supplied with energy consumption data for their
household, they will reflect on and adjust their energy-consuming activities (including
washing, cooking, and using the internet). This presupposes a material consumption
model based on "rational choice," which integrates information provision with
residential behavior (Karvonen, 2013; McMeekin and Southerton, 2012). According
to research, “feedback attentive to the unique energy-using patterns of households is
likely to have the greatest influence on demand” (Pullinger et al., 2014: 1144).
Second, when the smart meter loses its novelty value and existing energy-
consuming activities remain basically unaltered, consumer involvement with smart
meters and any corresponding energy savings declines over time (Hargreaves et al.,
2013). Third, and perhaps most concerning, is the problem of the rebound effect, in
which consumers simply move efficiency gains from smart meters to other resource-
intensive items or services (Herring et al., 2008; Sorrell et al., 2009).
31
In addition to the above five tensions introduced by Martin et al. (2018), this report
adds two additional tensions related to digital water meters involving the regulation of
smart water meters through policies and regulations as well as the politics behind
using smart water metering.
3.3.6 Policies and Regulations
Certain changes in the way infrastructure managers execute their responsibilities
may occur as they increasingly rely on data to gain better information about
networks. To begin, infrastructure administrators must have the resources to collect,
transmit, store, and analyze huge data volumes in order to deploy data-driven
innovation (DDI). This means that, in addition to traditional physical infrastructure
investments, such as ‘‘burying copper in the earth" (Edens, 2017), infrastructure
managers must now invest in ICT and other non-traditional resources, such as
‘‘smart devices" and specialized ICT and data science knowledge (Rijkswaterstaat,
2018; Vitens, 2017). Second, in order to enhance their operations through DDI,
infrastructure managers require data from a variety of sources, including their own
systems, government data, and data generated by users of infrastructure services
(OECD, 2015). Given that infrastructure managers typically work in highly regulated
industries, it is worth considering whether the regulatory frameworks that govern
their work are still capable of dealing with the new possibilities of action enabled by
the increased use of DDI, or whether they should be revised in the future to achieve
sustainable development.
Smart water meters are an example of technology that can make DDI easier to use
in utility network management. These meters not only provide more accurate
information about water consumption but also generate data on how well the
networks are working. Smart meter data, for example, can be used to spot issues
such as outages or leaks, as well as provide information about the service's quality
(Arniella, 2017; Cervigni & Larouche, 2014; He, Jenkins, & Wu, 2016).
3.3.7 Politics
In his foundational work on the politics of technology, Winner (1978: 323; 1986)
argued that “technology is itself a political phenomenon,” a way of constructing
politics, thus making it akin to a form of legislation in society because of the way
32
“technical forms do, to a large extent, shape the basic pattern and content of human
activity in our time” (Winner, 1978, p. 323). Scholars of technopolitics demonstrate
how technological systems create socio-spatial patterns that frequently serve elite
interests and ambitions. (Mitchell, 2002; Easterling, 2014; Sadowski forthcoming).
For example, Easterling (2014: 4) describes infrastructure as “the secret weapon of
the most powerful people in the world precisely because it orchestrates activities that
can remain unstated but are nevertheless consequential. The most radical changes
to the globalizing world are being written, not in the language of law and diplomacy,
but in these spatial, infrastructural technologies—often because market promotions
or prevailing political ideologies lubricate their movement through the world”. The
politics of technology, in general, is a terrain of political struggle shaped by power
systems that emerge from but also extend beyond the nation-state (Sadowski and
Levenda, 2020).
To comprehend techno-politics, It is essential to examine the ideas, practices, and
politics of the engineers, designers, and economists who are responsible for these
systems (Bissell, 2018). Smartness has become a must, a driving force behind all
kinds of social-technical systems (Sadowski and Levenda, 2020). Smart grids, smart
cities, and smart meters all imply the development of a computational logic based on
automated control and data-driven judgments. Imaginaries of smartness seek to
eliminate conflict and disagreement in order to give a comprehensive vision for
intelligent futures attempting to accomplish their goals in the most efficient way
possible (Sadowski and Levenda, 2020).
3.3.8 Conclusion
Overall, these seven tensions of smart and sustainable provide the theoretical
framework to study smart water meters. All the seven tensions will be used as the
framework for the study, but some of them are combined due to the deep
interconnections between them to finally be: Policies and Legislations, Economic,
Consumption, Social Equity, and Politics. They will be used to address the research
questions that were assigned in chapter1:
RQ1: How do digital prepaid water meters interpret and implement urban sustainable
development goals?
33
RQ2: How does the implementation of PWMs influence local infrastructure
management policies?
In the next chapter, I describe the research methodology to address the research
questions and the specific case study of digital prepaid water meters in Palestine,
where the theoretical framework mentioned was applied to interpret the empirical
findings.
34
Chapter 4 Methodology In this study, a Case Study approach was used to collect qualitative data. It is an
effective approach since many situations and occurrences cannot be fully
comprehended without this type of in-depth, multi-dimensional investigation. This
chapter summarises the ways and different steps taken during the study lifetime to
address the research questions (Baron, 2008).
4.1 The Case Study Approach
According to Creswell (2007: p170) and Yin (2003a), a case study is “an approach
capable of examining the simple or complex phenomenon, with units of analysis
varying from single individuals to large institutions to world-changing events; it entails
using a variety of lines of actions in its data-gathering segments and can
meaningfully make use of and contribute to the application of theory.” Case studies
can be classified into three types: intrinsic, instrumental and collective (Lune & Berg,
2017). This project is an instrumental case study. It provides insights into an issue or
refines a theoretical explanation, making it more generalizable (Creswell, 2002;
Stake, 1994). It is used to provide deep investigations and detailed aspects, activities
and background, using the case, in order to provide a better understanding of the
digitalization of water infrastructure and to establish a comprehension about the
related questions and issues (Lune & Berg, 2017).
Case studies are designed in three different ways and are often used to distinguish
among the different orientations to any research according to Yin (1994, 2003a) and
Winston (1997): exploratory, explanatory and descriptive. In this project, the
explanatory orientation has been used to discover and build an analysis for the many
factors and conditions that can help to build an explanation for the chosen case
study (Lune & Berg, 2017). This orientation will help to apply the theoretical
framework (as described in the previous chapter) or developing and expanding it
(Lune & Berg, 2017), which fits the aim and objectives of the study.
The case study approach is lengthy and involves numerous steps in order to be
completed in a proper way. Yet, selecting the case itself remains the fundamental
task to execute a case study project (Seawright & Gerring, 2008). Thus, the selection
35
of the case study began in the first month; firstly, because choosing a good case is a
challenging endeavor since it needs to meet the two objectives of being a
representative sample and a useful variation on the dimensions of theoretical
interests (Seawright & Gerring, 2008). Secondly, to give enough time to make sure
that the selected case has all the required data to complete the study. Thirdly, to
continue the rest of the procedure from completing a desk-study, contacting
stakeholders, interviewing them, and conducting an analysis for the results.
The chosen case study is the digital prepaid water meters project in Palestine. The
background on the case study will be explained in detail in section 5.1.
Finally, a case study approach necessitates that the data gathering process employs
a variety of methodologies and sources in order to conduct a thorough investigation
of the case (Lune and Berg, 2017). The procedure for gathering data is described in
section 4.2.
4.2 Data Gathering
In the social sciences, there are several ways to collect quantitative and qualitative
data, such as observation, interviewing, questionnaires, and content analysis of
secondary sources (Blaikie and Priest, 2019). The primary method used in this study
is interviewing, but data was also collected through a desk study of secondary
sources. The main type of data collected is primary qualitative data.
The first step in this research was to collect data on the case study through desk-
based studies. This data was necessary to develop a deep understanding of the
case study before choosing it and also to provide a base for the questions that will
be asked during the interviews. The data was collected from different sources
including academic publications (articles and theses) and grey literature (reports,
newspapers).
The interviewing process took place after the data collection and continued
throughout the study period. Getting interviews is one of the challenges that face this
type of study, especially due to the COVID pandemic, interviews were needed to be
36
conducted online. At first, an email was sent to the person to be interviewed with a
brief description of the project along with an information sheet and consent form (see
Appendix 1). The contact details were either found on official websites where the
interviewee work or through publications if he/she has some or from other contacts.
The identities of the interviewees have been removed for confidentiality reasons and
to ensure that the reader will focus on the project itself rather than the people who
were interviewed and avoid controversy (Lune and Berg, 2017). Since the research
is only including one case study, the interviews tried to cover all the stakeholders
that are involved either within the governmental organizational chart as per fig 2 or
outside of it. The interviewees come from different levels; decision-making level,
regulatory level, service delivery level, academia and human rights agencies.
Figure 2 Organizational and administrative framework of water sector in Palestine
The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured and semi-natural setting.
According to Blaikie and Priest (2019), a semi-natural setting interview involves
research in a one-on-one setting and focuses on the activities that the interviewee
37
makes but not while doing them. Eight interviews were conducted online using Zoom
video conferencing software or telephone and lasted from 30 to 98 minutes (see
Table 1). The semi-structured format made it possible to have discussions within the
interview and listen to the interviewee’s perspective about the digital prepaid water
meters and not only in the form of questions and answers. That gave the
interviewees the freedom to bring up information that was not within the prepared
interview questions. The questions for these semi-structured interviews were
prepared in a systematic and coherent way that is divided into themes and start by
asking general questions then narrowed down into more specific ones keeping a
certain degree of freedom. The interview questions are included in Appendix 2. The
questions were adapted for each interviewee depending on which stakeholder
he/she represented. The interviews were recorded and transcribed.
Table 1 Summary of semi-structured interviews
Interviewee Date Duration
1 Executive manager of the union of Palestinian water
service providers
Mar 17 1h 25min - zoom
2 Monitoring and evaluation officer at Jerusalem Legal
Aid and Human Rights Center
Mar 23 30 mins - zoom
3 Field Supervisor at Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human
Rights Center
Mar 23 45 mins - zoom
4 Associate professor at An-Najah National University
and former board of directors member at Water
Sector Regulatory Council (WSRC)
Mar 26 1h 15min - zoom
5 Executive manager for Joint Service Council of Jenin
Western Viligaes
Mar 28 1h 38min - zoom
6 Technical advisor and projects manager at
Palestinian Water Authority (PWA)
Mar 29 1h 12min - phone call
7 Former researcher at University of Cologne Apr 10 1h 15min - phone call
8 Tariff department director at Palestinian Water
Authority (PWA)
Apr 12 1h 18min - zoom
38
Participant observation was also conducted through attendance at two online live
events related to the research presented in Table 2. The context of participant
observation during these events was through interacting with the speakers, asking
questions, taking notes and getting more information about the history, the current
situation and the future plans about the subject.
Table 2 Online events attended
Title Speakers Date and
duration
Type
World water day:
valuing water
Dr. Shaddad Attili, Advisor ranking minister at the
Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department and
former minister of Palestinian Water Authority(PWA).
Dr. Hazem El-naser, Founder and Chairman of the
Middle East Water Forum (MEWF) and former minster
of Water and Irrigation, Jordan.
Dr. Nidal Salim, Director of Global Institute of Water,
Environment and Health, Switzerland.
Mar 22
3h
Online
Innovative Cities
in the context of
Climate Change:
Risk Management
in Water and
Energy Supply:
Resilience and
sustainable water
supply in cities.
Professor Khalid R. Temsamani, University
Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Morocco
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Hamyd Dawoud, Advisor - Water
Resources - Environment Quality, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mr. Eric Mino, Director, Euro-Mediterranean Water
Information System (EMWIS/SEMIDE) Technical Unit,
France
Dr. Amgad Elmahdi, Head of MENA Region,
International Water Management Institute, Egypt
Apr 5
3h
Online
4.3 Data Analysis
Data analysis entails examining the data to address the research questions (Berg,
2004). The data for this study were largely qualitative data acquired through desk
study, interviews, and participant observations, as detailed in section 4.2. Multiple
methods are preferred in qualitative research to reduce potential sources of
inaccuracy (Kelle, 2006). To achieve this goal, the researcher employed a multi-
39
method strategy, carefully ensuring that the data were not just merged but also
related to one another in order to mitigate the risks of each method's validity (Lune
and Berg, 2017). To achieve this, the different datasets (interview transcripts, notes
from attended events, and quotations from articles and websites) were organized
thematically. The thematic structure was derived from the conceptual framework and
based on the seven tensions between smart and sustainability. This thematic
structure allowed the data to be clarified and the findings to be revealed. After that,
the findings were compared to the literature to ensure that they were accurate and
reliable.
4.4 Research Limitations
In research that is based on case studies, gathering data and performing the study
depends a lot on the stakeholders, their availability and if they are willing to
cooperate and share the relevant data and experience they have. As a researcher,
there is a need to be flexible when it comes to this kind of study and try to find those
who have the willingness to share their knowledge. However, due to the COVID
pandemic, the plan didn’t really work as it supposed to be. Ideally, in such case
studies, there should be a site visit to several areas and cities that are have PWM
projects, interview consumers (who are the main stakeholder in the project) and take
notes about the different experiences in these areas. Fortunately, there was still a
possibility to conduct the interviews with the assigned stakeholders remotely using
different platforms such as Zoom and telephone. The positive side of these online
interviews is that they reduced the cost for conducting the research and they
increased convenience for respondents, which in turn increased the positive
responses for setting up an interview.
40
Chapter 5 Findings and Analysis The aim of this chapter is to present the findings and analysis of the study. It’s
divided into two main sections. The first section describes the case study that was
chosen for the project by firstly specifying the location of the project and then by
giving a brief description of the chosen topic (automated prepaid water meters). The
second section is the analysis section and is divided into five different subsections
that follow the tensions between the smart city and urban sustainable development
under the big umbrella of water governance introduced in the conceptual framework:
policies and legislations, economic, consumption, social equity and finally politics.
5.1 Case Study Description
The project consists of a case study about automated prepaid water meters (PWM)
in Palestine. The seven tensions described in the conceptual framework, then
categorized into five, were examined in the case study, analyzed and discussed to
see if there is a possibility to develop or expand the theory that was followed.
5.1.1 Palestine
Palestine is part of the middle east and lies to the east of the Mediterranean Sea
(fig.3). The state of Palestine covers an area of 6,020 km2 separated into two
landmasses: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (MoLG, 2016). The Palestinian
population is 5,227,193 people, of which 3,120,448 are living in the West Bank and
2,106,745 in the Gaza Strip (PCBS, 2021). The average size of families in Palestine
is estimated to be 5.2 persons, with 4.9 in the West Bank and 5.7 in the Gaza Strip
(PCBS, 2016).
The country is situated in an arid to semi-arid region and water shortage is a
dominant problem that needs to be solved. The overexploitation of water to satisfy
the increasing demand in domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors threatens the
availability of these scarce water resources (MoLG, 2016). Palestine faces significant
and growing shortfalls in the water supply available for domestic use. The World
Health Organization (WHO) considers 100 liters per capita per day (LCD) as the
benchmark minimum for domestic consumption to achieve full health and hygiene
benefits. In contrast, available water resources for domestic consumption in the West
41
Bank, on average, is only 62 LCD (World Bank, 2018). With the West Bank and
Gaza population of approximately 4.8 million growing at an average annual rate of
2.8 percent, the domestic supply gap is projected to be about 92 and 79 million cubic
meters (mcm), respectively, in 2030 unless supply and service options are expanded
(World Bank, 2018). The water sector in Palestine suffers to make water available for
all residents, mainly in summer when the supply-demand gap reaches its maximum.
The increasing water losses in the distribution networks make the supply of water
more vulnerable. The water losses occur for a number of reasons including leakage,
collection deficiency, lack of technical experience and illegal consumption (theft)
(GWP, 2015). In terms of quality, the water in Gaza is unfit to drink. Groundwater is
being extracted from the coastal natural aquifer at about three times the acceptable
rate due to growing demand, resulting in seawater intrusion. However, groundwater
quality is generally acceptable in the West Bank, with localized concentrations of
chlorides and nitrates (WorldBank, 2018).
42
Figure 3 Map of Palestine
Palestine is a water-scarce lower-middle-income state with a relatively water-
dependent economy and is vulnerable within its geopolitical setting (MoLG, 2016). In
the West Bank and Gaza, the components of water security are marginalized and
underdeveloped. As a result, water security is a top issue. Water security
necessitates enough water resources that are adequately managed, including risk
management, as well as Water Service Providers (SPs) that provide long-term, cost-
effective, and equitable services (World Bank, 2018). Palestinian cities in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip continuously suffer from severe water shortages. The main
water resources in Palestine are the Mountain Aquifer that includes three basins (the
Western, Eastern and Northeastern basins), the Jordan River system, and the
Coastal Aquifer. Most of the water resources in Palestine are controlled by the Israeli
43
authorities. For example, Palestinians have access to only 20 percent of the water
pumped from the Mountain Aquifer that is considered the main source of water in
Palestine (B’Tselem, 2016).
The water supply in Palestine is determined largely through negotiated agreements
with Israel for groundwater abstraction (internal resources) and imports of additional
supply (B’Tselem, 2016). Article 40 of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement
on the West Bank and Gaza Strip restricts the development of Palestinian water
resources (Oslo II Accord) (PWA, 2013). The article, which was written for a five-
year interim period, is based on three key assumptions. First, that Palestinian
domestic water needs in the West Bank are at 70–80 mcm per year in addition to the
existing uses at the time of signing the agreement, 118 mcm per year. Second, that
interim water development must be managed through a coordinated Palestinian-
Israeli process and mechanism. Third, that topics of “common interest” (of which
water is considered to be one) would be further delineated under the Permanent
Status Negotiations (ongoing slowly with obstacles). The additional resources were
to be extracted from previously unused sources in the eastern basin of the Mountain
Aquifer (World Bank, 2018).
5.1.2 Water Governance Structure in Palestine
As mentioned earlier, the water sector in Palestine has been under severe pressure
for many natural and artificial reasons. In 2010, the government began a water
reform process (enacted in 2014), which included concrete legislative actions for
resources management through the application of sustainable and integrated water
resource management (IWRM) principles, building institutional capacity, accelerating
infrastructure development in Palestine based on the water security needs and
regulating service provision with the goal of improving the provision of water services
to all citizens in terms of quality, efficiency and cost (GWP, 2015). In terms of
strategy development, policymaking, and the identification and implementation of
bulk water projects, the water sector is currently centralized. However, it is
decentralized to the point of fragmentation in terms of service delivery (PWA, 2014).
From 1995 until reforms were introduced in 2014, significant roles and
responsibilities were implemented by a single public entity, the Palestinian Water
Authority (PWA). Reforms in the form of a new Water Law were led by the PWA in
44
2014 to address the various existing sector challenges. The 2014 Water Law
enforces a reformed institutional framework that separates roles and responsibilities
accordingly (fig. 4 summarizes the institutional arrangements in the West Bank and
tables 3a and 3b summarizes the roles and inter-related responsibilities of the
various entities):
1. Palestinian Water Authority (PWA)
The PWA is in effect the Palestinian Water Ministry and is responsible for the overall
policy making for the water and wastewater sector (World Bank, 2009). The PWA
drafts sector laws and regulations submits them to the Cabinet of Ministers for
approval. As the 2014 Water Law is implemented, the PWA will be transformed into
the sole institution responsible for overall policy making in the sector (Mumssen &
Triche, 2017). In addition to its policy role, the PWA is responsible for managing
water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner, including the issuance of
licenses for water extraction, overall sector strategic development, investment
planning and project implementation and execution (World Bank, 2018). However,
when it comes to tariff setting, it’s split between the PWA and the Water Sector
Regulatory Council (WSRC) where PWA is responsible for setting the tariff policy
only.
2. Water Sector Regulatory Council (WSRC)
The 2014 reforms established the WSRC. It is an independent legal agency that
reports directly to the Cabinet of Ministers and is in charge of overall monitoring and
regulating all aspects of water and sanitation service providers' operations
(Mumssen & Triche, 2017). It is also in charge of issuing licenses to service
providers and setting service delivery standards, as well as monitoring their
operational, technical, financial, and administrative performance. When it comes to
setting tariffs, the WSRC is in charge of reviewing and approving them (World Bank,
2018). The WSRC is still working on its institutional arrangements and staffing, and it
has not yet been assigned all of its responsibilities (interviewee 4).
3. Regional Water Utilities (RWUs)
The PWA has implemented aggregation measures to maximize the benefits of
economies of scale in order to increase overall sector efficiency. RWUs are to be
45
established in larger municipalities as part of the reform (Mumssen & Triche, 2017).
The PWA will start enforcing its aggregation policy by expanding the three existing
RWUs to include local small service providers. Additional utilities will be built at large
municipalities, which will subsequently be expanded by combining smaller
surrounding municipalities, as well as collaboration with small villages to build shared
water services (ibid). Although the exact number of RWUs will be determined in the
future, the long-term objective appears to be to divide responsibilities between the
West Bank and Gaza, with one RWU serving Gaza and three RWUs serving the
West Bank, divided into the North, Middle, and South districts. Under the new
paradigm, the RWUs would eventually be in charge of all retail water and wastewater
services (ibid).
4. Joint Water Service Councils (JWSCs)
During the transition period leading up to the implementation of the reform strategy,
the PWA will work to establish Joint Water Service Councils, which are made up of
small village councils in rural areas with political or geographic constraints (Mumssen
& Triche, 2017). JWSCs are an interim step before their eventual absorption into
RWUs.
5. Local Government Units (LGUs)
Which are municipalities in general which were assigned the responsibility of
providing water supply for customers under the 1997 local government law
(Mumssen & Triche, 2017). These LGUs are supported, monitored and regulated by
the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG). The 2014 Water Law supports the
aggregation of the existing small service providers (LGUs) into RWUs to enhance
sustainability of service delivery level by exploiting opportunities to benefit from
economies of scale (World Bank, 2018).
6. National Water Company (NWC)
In West Bank, bulk water provision is the responsibility of the West Bank Water
Department (WBWD). WBWD is responsible for the management of wells, the
procurement of water from Israel, and the distribution of bulk water to service
providers (Mumssen & Triche, 2017). However, within the restructured institutional
framework, the NWC will be established to assume responsibility for extraction of
46
water and transmission of bulk water supply to the JWSCs, RWUs, and other local
authorities and associations. The NWC will be in charge of water extraction as well.
Instead of the West Bank Water Department (WBWD), which is now operating with a
limited mandate, the NWC will be the new bulk water corporation. The NWC will be
established and fully functional, and will eventually merge or replace the WBWD,
according to the Water Sector Strategic Development Plan for 2017–2022 (World
Bank, 2018).
7. Joint Water Committee (JWC)
Is not part of the reform or 2014 Water Law, but it was established under Article 40
to implement the Oslo Interim Agreement on Water. JWC's role is to provide a
collaborative governance framework for joint resource management as well as a tool
to facilitate sector investment (World Bank, 2009). In the JWC, a large number of
Palestinian projects have been rejected or have been postponed for a lengthy time.
The JWC, on the other hand, appears to have accepted all Israeli-proposed
development projects except one (Mumssen & Triche, 2017). The JWC does not
function as a “joint” water resource governance institution because of fundamental
asymmetries - of power, of capacity, of information, of interests – that prevent the
development of a consensual approach to resolving water management conflicts
(ibid).
All the detailed roles and elaboration on the relationships between the different
entities can be found in Annex 3.
47
Figure 4 Institutional Arrangements in the Water Sector in West Bank
48
Table 3 Institutional mapping of roles and responsibilities in the water sector according to the new water
law
a. Allocation of roles across ministries and public agencies
Area Water
Resources
Water Supply Wastewater
Treatment Domestic Agriculture Industry
Strategy, priority
setting and
planning,
including
infrastructure
PWA PWA PWA PWA PWA, MOH,
EQA
Policy
Making PWA PWA PWA PWA
PWA, MOH,
EQA,
Information,
monitoring and
evaluation
PWA, EQA,
envt condition
MOH, health
qlty
WSRC, EQA,
MOH
WSRC, EQA,
MOH
WSRC, EQA,
MOH
PWA, MOH,
EQA, WSRC
Stakeholders
engagement,
citizen’s
awareness
PWA, EQA,
MoLG, MOH
PWA, MoLG,
MOH
PWA, MOA,
MOH PWA, MOH
PWA, MOH,
EQA
b. Institutional mapping for quality standards and regulations
Area Water
Resources
Water Supply Wastewater
Treatment Domestic Agriculture Industry
Allocation of
uses PWA PWA PWA PWA, MOA PWA
Quality standards PWA, MOH PWA, MOH PWA, MOH,
MOA PWA, MOH
PWA, MOH,
EQA. MOA
Compliance of
service delivery WSRC WSRC WSRC WSRC WSRC
Economic
regulations
(tariffs)
PWA PWA PWA PWA PWA
Environmental
Regulations PWA, EQA PWA, EQA
PWA, EQA,
MOA PWA, EQA PWA, EQA
PWA: Palestinian Water Authority MOA: Ministry of Agriculture WSRC: Water Sector Regulatory Council
EQA: Environment Quality Authority MOH: Ministry of Health MOLG: Ministry of Local Government
49
5.1.3 Prepaid Water Meters Project (PWM) in Palestine
PWMs are considered a water resource management tool (fig. 5). PWMs technology
is implemented in many countries in the world. This new technology, which has the
potential to be cost-effective and simple to implement, raises a number of key
problems and considerations about its impact on water demand management and
the repercussions on people (Helou, 2010). The technology was considered to be
the solution for the water management problems, such as the efficient administration
of the water, cost recovery, and controlling the wastage of water (McClune, 2005).
PWM is part of the neoliberal policies philosophy and an extreme example of
applying complete cost recovery directly to the household level, making it easier to
manage and budget (McClune, 2005). PWM is a type of electronic water meter that
controls the setting of a water quota based on earlier payments. It also has a feature
of automated cutting-off of water supply when available credit is insufficient (when
water use reaches the specified limit) (APF, 2006).
In Palestine, the PWM Project started in 2008. According to several interviews done
during the research, after the second Intifada (2000-2006), most of the Palestinians
ended up with some debts for public utilities due to hard economic and social
situations (Interviewee 4; Interviewee 5; Interviewee 8). Most of the infrastructure
was destroyed during the war affecting the services to be delivered to citizens, many
people lost their jobs and homes. That created a huge challenge for the government
and service providers to rebuild infrastructure services during an economic crisis.
The idea of PWM came as a response to reduce the accumulated huge general debt
and low water collecting rate (15-20%) under the difficult economic situation and the
unstable political condition of the country (Interviewee 1; Interviewee 4; Interviewee
6; Interviewee 8).
50
Figure 5 An example of a digital prepaid water meter
In September 2009, 1000 ordinary mechanical water meters were replaced with
PWMs in two different locations in the Jenin District in the northern part of West
Bank as a pilot project to test the effectiveness of this new technology (Helou, 2010;
Interviewee 5). In 2010, the number of installed PWM increased to around 5500, in
other nine villages in the Northwest of Jenin District, after the successful experience
of the pilot project in increasing the collecting rate to more than 100% as it collects
part of the old debt and some improvements that have been done on the meter (e.g.
changing the method of calculating the water supplied from velocity to volume
because in some areas the velocity is too low that the meter cannot detect) (Helou,
2010; Interviewee 1).
5.2 Analysis and Discussion
Following the conceptual framework from chapter 3, the study starts by analyzing the
data gathered through the interviews and the desk study to get a better
understanding of the tensions between the digital prepaid water meters and
sustainability.
51
5.2.1 Policies and Legislations
According to the World Bank (2018), the water supply in Palestine is fragmented
across a large number of SPs. In the West Bank and Gaza, there are different local
government institutional organizations provide water services:
1. In West Bank, two autonomous "utilities" serve around 17% of the population,
formally established under their own statute and reporting to a board of the
local government units (LGUs) that own them. The Jerusalem Water
Undertaking (JWU) delivers water services to part of East Jerusalem and
surrounding communities and large portions of Ramallah and Al Bireh
Governorate. The second one is by the Water Supply and Sanitation Authority
(WSSA) that provides water services to several neighborhoods of Bethlehem.
2. The Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) provides services to the rest of the
West Bank population as well as all Gaza households. Water and sanitation
services are provided by municipal water departments in larger towns (76 in
West Bank and 25 in Gaza).
3. In the West Bank, a number of smaller municipalities and villages have
banded together to form Joint Service Councils (JSCs) that provide water
and/or wastewater services (there are currently 13 JSCs).
4. Water and wastewater services are also provided by 162 Village Councils
(VCs). Smaller SPs are encouraged to group together to improve their
transparency, accountability, and financial autonomy.
At the national level, many water utilities work as bulk water supply covering mainly
the area (A) in which Palestinian Authority has complete control on. Whereas other
regions (B and C areas) with water consumer associations and villages and joint
service councils (PWA, 2013). The PWMs were a national project that aimed all the
municipalities and SPs. However, the existence of large numbers of SPs as
previously seen without following one clear governance approach and the unclear
administrational system, made it difficult to apply the PWM project in all the areas,
especially since these SPs report to different governmental bodies. Many interviews
revealed that when the PWM project started in 2008, it started as a way to increase
the collection rate of water service fees and decrease the general water debt that
reached almost $335 million (Interviewee 4, Interviewee 5, Interviewee 8). However,
52
the system is seen by the water experts and academia as a strategy for demand
management and an important tool for effective water governance (Interviewee 4,
Interviewee 6, Interviewee 7). PWMs increased the availability of water for
consumers with no additional water resources. According to Interviewee 4 “In one of
the towns that witnessed a low “willing to pay” phenomenon, people used to get
water three times a month. However, after the PWMs were installed, water was
supplied 24/7 instead of three times a month during the peak season in the summer
with no additional resources”. In other words, people (especially those who used not
to pay water fees) were careless with their water consumption. PWMs have made
them more responsible with their consumption and financial commitment which
increased the water availability for all the consumers.
The majority of SPs are still governed under the Water Law of 2002 (fig. 6) and the
Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) Law of 1997, which assigns water services to
local government entities (LGUs) (PWA, 2013). Whereas the PWA considers water
services to be a stand-alone activity that can be delivered in collaboration with the
private sector, the MoLG considers water services to be part of the local
government's assigned obligations (WorldBank, 2018). This contradiction in
regulations let the efforts of SPs scatter since there was no clear way to report to
whom and on what basis. For example, revenues from water sales are frequently
used by LGUs to cover gaps in the provision of other services such as
transportation. On the other hand, PWA is claiming that water revenues should not
be used on anything but water and should be used to cover the purchased water
cost by that LGU (Interviewee 1, Interviewee 6, Interviewee 8). The 2014 Water Law
(fig. 7) was intended to clarify accountability and establish autonomous utilities.
However, due to an insufficient legislative structure, a lack of funding, and a lack of
clarification of regulations and obligations at the national level, implementation has
been difficult (World Bank, 2018). Previous water laws and strategies have also
called for regional utilities to be established, but no progress has been made. All of
this led to a confusion over accountability among central agencies (PWA and MoLG)
as well as accountability of the SPs at the local level. As a result, there is no clear
regulations or enforcement mechanism in place and no higher-level decision to
compel municipalities and SPs to adopt the PWM initiative, which is currently
optional for them. Different interpretations of the 2014 Water Law by stakeholders at
53
both the national and local levels show that the stakeholder consultation process has
not yet resulted in full buy-in from the MoLG and LGUs, raising the risk of the law's
and supporting policies' implementation. The rules will remain ambiguous until the
establishment of draft utilities by law is approved, which will impede the PWM project
progress (Interviewee 4, Interviewee 7).
Figure 6 Water Sector Framework according to the 2002 Water Law
Figure 7 Water Sector Framework according to the 2014 Water Law
Regulatory capacity is being built, but it faces long-term concerns. The Water Sector
Regulatory Council (WSRC) was established as an autonomous legal organization
reporting directly to the Palestinian Cabinet of Ministers under the 2014 Water Law
(WSRC, 2018). The WSRC is in charge of overseeing and regulating all aspects of
the functioning of water and sanitation service providers. Tariff approval, licensing
54
and regulation of SPs, and consumer protection are among these tasks, as seen in
fig. 8 (GWP, 2015). The WSRC also uses SP to collect vital data and has begun a
benchmarking effort. The WSRC will set consistent pricing for all bulk deliveries to
SPs once the National Water Company (NWC) is founded according to the 2014
Water Law (Interviewee 8). Most of these statutory functions, including the adoption
of the licensing bylaw that would allow the WSRC to collect fees from licensed SPs
for its financial viability, have yet to be officially transferred to the WSRC. This delay,
lack of full control and clear policies has occurred for two reasons: first, The PWA's
management was changed in the same year of establishing the WSRC and the new
management of PWA was not proactive enough in putting in place all of the
necessary policies and procedures, as well as collaborating with the WSRC in
accordance with the 2014 water law. In fact, there is still apprehension about
submitting these new policies for government approval before transferring them to
WSRC (Interviewee 4). Second, since LGUs are administratively regulated by the
MoLG, neither the PWA nor the WSRC has technical or administrative supervision
over LGUs, indicating that the sector has a governance deficit in the sector
(Interviewee 1). This lack of clarification of regulations and obligations put a lot of
SPs in debt for the PWA and West Bank Water Department (WBWD) that they
purchase water from. Hence, the idea of PWM came not only as a cost and debt
collection tool but also as a sector regulating tool since after the implementation of
PWMs, all water revenues that were collected by the SPs (LGUs) were reported to
PWA and WBWD.
55
Figure 8 Functional structure of the water sector entities according to the 2014 Water Law
5.2.2 Economic
At numerous levels, the water sector's viability is threatened by a lack of commercial
focus. The typical rate for water in the West Bank barely covers operational costs
(Interviewee 8). Municipalities also use a portion of the water receipts for other
municipal expenses, leaving them with $335 million in arrears to the bulk provider
(WBWB) (World Bank, 2018). The West Bank Water Department (WBWD) is in debt
to Israel because it is unable to pay Mekorot (Israeli Water Company) for the bulk
water it purchases. Since there is no cost recovery at the service provider level in the
West Bank, every bulk water purchase from Mekorot puts the WBWD deeper in debt
to Israel (World Bank, 2018). Despite the fact that the WBWD already gives a 20%
discount on the cost of bulk water so that the SPs can provide water with reasonable
prices for the citizens, West Bank SPs compensate for the deficit by refusing to pay
the WBWD for the procurement of bulk water (Interviewee 8). However, Israel
deducts this amount immediately from the taxes it collects on behalf of the
Palestinian Authority (Interviewee 1). Here comes the main aim of the PWMs project,
as mentioned earlier, which is to reduce the general debt of the water sector by
giving the service provider the capacity to pay the WBWD, which in turn can pay
Israel instead of the deductions from the taxes clearance money (Interviewee 1,
Interviewee 4, Interviewee 5, Interviewee 6, Interviewee 8). In the areas where the
56
PWMs were applied, it is found that they have a great influence in increasing “Cash
flow” to 100% revenue instead of 15 to 20%, eliminating the risk of late or non-
payment of water services (Interviewee 5). The PWMs project also reduced the
running cost of SPs when it comes to bills collection costs, as no need for ongoing
intensive meter reading services. Also, PWM intends to defeat the so-called
“unwillingness to pay” and eliminate the risk of extra charges for late water bill
payments. It also aims to save customers and SPs time and money as they do not
have to interact directly as before to pay the bills since the PWM can be charged in
local kiosks and supermarkets (Interviewee 5; Interviewee 6; Helou, 2010).
A combination of high non-revenue water, inadequate tariffs, and low collection rates
undermine the financial viability of most SPs and impair their ability to invest to cover
their operational and maintenance costs (GWP, 2015). The SPs, especially the small
ones of them who do not have many income resources, were eager to try the PWMs
as their aim was to break even financially by covering their operational and
maintenance costs (Interviewee 6, Interviewee 8). Due to SPs' failure to fund running
costs, operational subsidies are required. For all municipal services, municipalities
have sub-optimal user fee collection and cost-recovery rates. High NRW rates,
combined with insufficient tariffs and low collection rates, result in annual financial
deficits of around US$70 million for the SPs (WorldBank, 2018). According to WBWD
data, the West Bank water sector had a total loss of US$30.7 million equivalent in
2016, adding to a total deficit of US$350 million in 2015 (PWA, 2016).
There is a wide variation in tariffs in the West Bank, where rates range from
(US$0.43/m3) to as high as (US$2.14/m3). However, the WSRC is working on a new
tariff law and it’s already applied in some areas, especially those with PWMs
(Interviewee 4; Interviewee 8). After adopting the PWMs, the total cost of the water
bill for the SP and the households has decreased and this can be for many reasons;
people who used not to pay for water costs are paying now; people are paying more
attention to their consuming habits and don’t waste water; they stopped their
wasteful practices of water (Interviewee 4, Interviewee 5, Interviewee 6, Interviewee
8). However, the new tariff law has been used as an incentive (for a temporary
period) in the areas that are newly adopting the PWMs to convince people with
PWMs. In these areas, the consumers with PWMs are paying a fixed price for each
57
cubic meter of water regardless of the quantity consumed, where they used to pay
according to the categorized system that increases the price after a certain quantity
(Interviewee 5, Interviewee 8). In other words, even if the consumer is still using the
same quantity after fixing the PWM (which doesn’t usually happen), the bill will still
be less than the old one.
Because the adoption of PWMs is voluntary by law, the government has used a
performance-based incentive program for investment assistance to encourage SPs
to adopt it. Municipalities (SPs) that implement the PWMs project and improve their
performance (i.e., increase collection rate, reduce costs, implement tariff structure,
reduce NRW, and so on) will be eligible for incentives to fund their activities, support
them with other projects, and direct external donations to them (Interviewee 1,
Interviewee 4, Interviewee 6, Interviewee 8). According to the interviewees, PWM is
a promising way to solve many problems in the water sector. The PWM project
should enable SPs to be financially self-sustaining in terms of operation and
maintenance, keeping the networks on a high level of standards. The prices should
allow the institutions to be financially autonomous, to operate sustainably, to achieve
full cost recovery, and to allow extra money to meet part of the sector investment
needs. According to Interviewee 5 “after adopting the PWMs, our institution has
more than 100% revenues. That allowed us to be financially stable, expand the
service network, cover the operational and maintenance costs and seeking to find
new resources water of to make it more available for our customers”.
5.2.3 Consumption
In Palestine, water supplies are limited due to natural and artificial reasons and the
complexity of geopolitical situation there. Inaction is not an option but water security
has been less of a priority in recent years (Murrar, 2020). The population is rapidly
increasing (MoLG, 2016). Demand for water is already greatly outstripping
availability as economic needs for water rise and water resources dwindle. From one
year to the next, the situation worsens. Internal renewable water supplies are
depleted (PWA, 2013). The Palestinian reliance on Israel has grown, and their
demand for additional water resources from Israel, which is normally refused,
complicates matters. The acquisition of new water resources has turned into a
transnational and political concern (WorldBank, 2018). On the other hand, non-
58
revenue water (NRW) levels are high for a location with limited water and financial
resources. The average NRW ranges from 29% at the SPs to 15% (10 mcm/year) at
the bulk water supply level (West Bank), with some towns losing up to 53% of their
water (Murrar, 2020). Despite the great network coverage, service delivery is
inconsistent, with significant differences in per capita supply between communities
(WorldBank, 2018). About 15% of Gaza's population and 47% of the West Bank's
population have access to piped water for less than ten days each month. As a
result, 97% of Gaza residents and 92% of West Bank residents said they had a
water storage tank on their roof or in their courtyard (GWP, 2015). The quality of
service is highly dependent on the availability of bulk water, which is uneven among
West Bank communities due to natural and human-made reasons. Some areas are
suffering from water shortage while others have extra amounts, particularly varying
from 26 LCD in Yatta and Dura to over 250 LCD in Jericho. Even though, due to the
geographical characteristics of Palestine that range from coastal areas to mountains
to flat landscapes, transferring water from areas of water excess to areas of water
shortage is not always an option.
Despite all of these problems, the PWM was used as a “Water Demand
Management” tool in Palestine to facilitate cost-recovery to assure an equal water
distribution for the available quantities (Helou, 2010). The PWM project succeeded in
making the water more available for consumers by stopping the wasteful practices of
citizens who used not to pay their bills. It also increased the level of awareness for
the society in consuming water as now they “feel” the value they pay for the water
service (Interviewee 4; Interviewee 5). The total consumption of some of the villages
in northwest of Jenin district decreased after adopting PWMs despite the population
growth and industrialization happening there (as summarized in Table 3). We can
see in a village like Yamoon, water consumption decreased from 16,827 m3 in 2008
to 10,969 m3 in 2011 because of the usage of PWMs. Although the consumed water
is less, but the service quality is higher. The SP of that area is now able to provide
proper operation and maintenance for the network as it has more than 110%
revenues from water which provided it with the opportunity to fix leaks in the network
and the NRW to the lowest percentages ever. They are also now more capable of
drilling new groundwater wells and building new infrastructure in new areas that were
not served before (Interviewee 5).
59
The PWM helped to reduce the general debt that accumulated on the consumers
during and after the intifada. Also, it helped in stopping the historical attitudes of
some citizens of not paying for water that sooner turned into practices after more
than six years of not paying their bills. This helped the SPs in two ways; first, they
are more capable of operating the networks and maintain them after the destruction
of major parts of them during the intifada by the Israeli Army. Secondly, it affected
the irresponsible consuming practices of those who didn’t use to pay for a long time
and made those who used to pay be more wise and responsible while using water as
he/she is paying in advance for the service. PWM puts the customer in control of his
budget and eliminated surprises caused by high water bills (Interviewee 4,
Interviewee 7).
After fixing the PWMs in some regions, the citizens of these areas have not
experienced a single day without water (even if they are not receiving 24/7 water
supply). They are receiving water more often than before which keeps their water
storage tanks always full. As a result, this stopped the citizens that used to run out of
water and buy water tankers to fill their water storage tanks from doing so. This
phenomenon was not sustainable as it uses tankers that are usually run by diesel
and affect the environment. The water quality of the tanker is sometimes
questionable as the tankers are rarely properly cleaned and there is always wasting
some water while pumping the water from the tanker to the storage tanks
(Interviewee 4, Interviewee 5).
In the old days, rural and remote areas had the lowest opportunity to connect to
piped water supply and they often relied on rainwater collection wells and water
tankers. Today, it can be seen through different examples that rural areas with
PWMs are going towards establishing sustainable areas more than large cities. The
infrastructure there is better and new, the management systems for the network are
modern and smart that can detect the losses and this can be seen through the
unaccounted for water quantities in these areas (Online Event 2).
Although the PWMs stopped the wasteful practices and conserved more water, but
at the same time, did not sacrifice the basic daily water needs for households
(Fuqaha, 2013). Residents continue to clean their homes and wash their dishes and
60
clothes. The change in consumption behaviors to be more rational and responsible
not only turned into a benefit on the SPs, but also to the consumers and
environment. This behavioral change decreased the water bills for residents and
created an incentive for them to pay more attention and eliminate unnecessary water
usage which saved large quantities of water. This increased water availability and
gave all the consumers the opportunity to use more quantities in more needed
practices that turned into benefits from health and hygiene perspectives. People now
drink more water and are healthier, having better hygiene practices, which are
especially important in the current circumstances of COVID-19.
Table 4 Water Consumption between 2008 (before PWMs) and 2011 (after PWMs) in northwest of Jenin
District
Town Feb April June August October December
Town 2008 2011 2008 2011 2008 2011 2008 2011 2008 2011 2008 2011
Kufrdan 1825 4385.3 1781 5725.9 4310 10305.6 3199 11920.1 3980 10428.8 6398 5799.2
Yamoon 16827 10969.2 24022 18483.6 34929 40078.3 26669 47166.6 32154 37337 28616 17445
Alselih 7873 5087.7 16661 10430.1 21732 25488.6 14370 31022.5 15510 25744 18164 9439.7
Tienik 1275 345.1 1958 788.1 3024 2870.5 2322 3301 2917 2846.6 2739 791.3
Zboba 3318 1446.6 5797 2347.9 2854 4655.8 6605 5718 5503 4509.5 4914 2484.7
Romanih 3948 3711.6 6741 6244.9 7625 11485.4 8171 13873 8638 11598.3 6128 5135.3
Altaybeh 4900 3473 8264 4090.2 8960 7249.5 10533 9218 8078 7482 7618 4313
Anin 4107 2354.9 8812 4901.3 8633 9133 11234 12313.3 10369 10153.4 8253 4499
Alaraqa 378 847.8 3923 1701.9 3284 3989 3399 6024.2 3375 5022.2 3842 1646.8
Alhashmyih 919 768.3 1038 1343.5 2550 3067 2437 3118 2979 2682.2 1910 1086
Kufrkod 1594 1082.9 2706 1888.3 4590 3754.1 4933 4487.7 3832 3575 4965 1961.6
61
5.2.4 Social Equity
One of the three Es of sustainability in any system is social equity especially when it
comes to a life-threatening service such as water (Monks et al., 2021). Although the
PWMs project was supported by the government and the SPs, there was an
opposing opinion from human rights agencies and some citizens that were against
this project. The opposition to PWM is based on the statements of “water is a human
right and shouldn’t be touched in any way or another” and “meeting basic needs with
free basic services for all” (JLAC, 2019). Since the start of the project to date, they
refused to agree with the idea of PWMs and the cost recovery concept. They claim
that PWMs represent the firmest expression of neoliberalism and binding
commitment from the consumer to the SP to assure his revenues and profits without
taking into consideration people’s needs. SPs are commodifying water and treating it
as a business, prioritizing their profits that they would gain out of this service, turning
the water sector into a profit-making exercise instead of a social service that must be
provided for all (Interviewee 2, Interviewee 3, Interviewee 4, JLAC, 2019). The
human rights agencies are not fighting for not paying the water bills. They argue that
there are different measures that can be taken to secure more water and achieve
reduce the general water debt instead of the PWMs solution that touches the citizen
at the first place. According to Interviewee 3 who said “we as human rights agency,
are not against the collecting the general water debt or fighting for citizens not to pay
their water bills. We believe that other measures like assuring the Palestinian water
rights from Israel is one of the ways to increase the water availability. Also, PWMs
are applied on citizens with limited income, while more powerful people (such as
Businessmen with huge water debt) are not being enforced for the PWMs. There
should be more justice in applying the project”.
From the beginning of the project until today, not all citizens have accepted PWMs.
They are always concerned about running out of water while there is no credit
available in the charging card (Interviewee 1; Interviewee 5). They think that PWMs
will affect their health and hygiene practices, especially when it comes to the poor
communities not finding enough water to drink or shower. Furthermore, consumers
are concerned that PWM does not grasp crises, which prohibits them from obtaining
additional credit in the event of force majeure, a danger, or a war (Interviewee 6).
62
However, the percentage of people not accepting PWM is decreasing after raising
their awareness regarding the benefits of such a system. PWMs are smart enough to
take all of these into consideration. SPs have improved the PMWs software to
ensure that water services are not terminated during holidays and vacations. The
software also gives consumers extra water in the case of emergency such as fire
(Interviewee 5; Interviewee 8).
It is also debatable if installing PWMs in underserved regions has a negative impact
on the communities' social, health, and hygiene situations, leading to water theft and
illegal hookups. Poor families are compelled to reduce their water consumption in
order to make difficult choices between water, food, medicine, and other necessities
and services (JLAC, 2019). Such practices expose the most vulnerable people to
diseases that can be prevented by better hygiene. It is argued that what we may
save in water may escalate the cost of providing health services for poor people
(Interviewee 2). This might in turn burden the health sector with increased numbers
of patients from lack of hygiene such as COVID-19 or water-borne diseases resulting
from using untreated water from other local water sources (Interviewee 3). Moreover,
social bonds might dissociate during hazards when some people are not able to help
their neighbors or relatives because they are out of water. PWM may not have an
impact on the wealthy and affluent, raising their awareness of the issue of
responsible water consumption; they are free to consume as much as they want as
long as they can afford it (Interviewee 2; Interviewee 3). However, interviewees 5
and 8 argue that “although wealthy people can consume as much as they can afford,
but there is a limit for the maximum quantity that they can consume per month
depending on the family size”.
The PWMs have many features and the software is smart enough to take into
consideration all kinds of social problems when it comes to marginalized and poor
people. Rather than perpetuating inefficiency, necessary sector subsidies can be
transparent and targeted to benefit the disadvantaged (Interviewee 4). Tariff reforms
in the West Bank can be operationalized, and subsidies can be targeted and
transparent. The sale price of bulk water from the WBWD to the SPs is fixed at the
same level as the purchase price in order to provide poor people with subsidies at
the SP level. These subsidies can be open to the public and directed to the needy
63
through a well-managed subsidiary structure (JLAC, 2019; World Bank, 2018). The
system can accept different tariffs for different categories of citizens. In other words,
once a household is registered as low-income or poor, with coordination with the
special authorities, the system can provide the water for these households with a
lower tariff. It is also possible if some people want to donate some money to the
account of a specific family as financial aid, the system can accommodate this
(Interviewee 4; Interviewee 5; Interviewee 6; Interviewee 8).
Such features are some of the push factors for continuing the PWM project (from
citizens, LGUs and SPs point of view) as they increase the social equity between
people. Citizens will be more satisfied as long as they know that everyone is paying
his/her bills and poor families are being taken care of (Interviewee 4). This would
increase the feeling of ownership and equity between the citizens. Since they know
that the water bill (even in the light of the bad economic conditions that the
Palestinians live), except for the poor as it accounts for around 5% of the family
income, is not a significant bill that people cannot afford (MoLG, 2016). Actually, in
the areas where the PWMs are applied, 82% of the citizens (Fuqaha, 2013) were
happy with the new meters and did not prefer to revert back to the old mechanical
meters. The early bird poor families that had the PWM, had an incentive program
from the government to start with zero debt after fixing the PWM. Current customers
are also satisfied with the debt collection rate that accounts for 10-20% of the
amount charged every time, as this way they are getting rid of their debt and
benefitting from the government incentives to collect the debt without any interest
(Interviewee 8).
In terms of Palestinian PWM law and regulations, it was discovered that the
Palestinian legislative had taken all necessary steps to legally preserve and ensure
the continuance of water delivery. “All water resources in Palestine are considered
public property, and everyone has the right to receive water service of sufficient
quality,” according to Article No. [3] of the Palestinian Water Law No. [3] for the year
2002 (Helou, 2010; JLAC, 2019). Furthermore, “all official institutions and private
water service providers shall take all necessary efforts to safeguard this right and put
in place the necessary plans to enhance these services,” according to the law.
According to Civil Procedure Articles No. [122 and 106] and Palestinian Trade Law
64
No. [2] for the year 2001, “it is the right of the customer to complain in front of the
court (the urgent relief judge) if the water service was cut-off, regardless of the cause
or the original right (reason of service cut-off)” (JLAC, 2019). However, although the
Palestinian law assures water rights, the human rights agencies argue that PWMs
are contradicting the law by only affording water to those who have its price
(Interviewee 2; Interviewee 3). It is also worth to mention, that from the beginning of
the project until today the Palestinian Consumer Protection Association rejects the
use of PWMs in Palestine, and holds regular meetings with citizens to warn them
about agreeing to use these meters (Interviewee 1).
5.2.5 Politics
Palestinian politics are divided into two kinds: internal (between the different
Palestinian stakeholders) and external (with Israel). After the success of the pilot
project northwest of Jenin District, the government embraced PWMs and
encouraged other SPs to adopt them. The government at that time was not aware of
the human rights aspect which made them only encourage the SPs and citizens to
install PWMs without any enforcement (JLAC, 2019). The project started and is still
optional for the SPs and consumers. However, the government suggested a program
of incentives for those who adopt the PWMs; the very first program was for the early
bird poor families that had the PWM, to start with zero debt after fixing the PWM
(Interviewee 4; Interviewee 8). That program was temporary because it was
financially infeasible for the government to continue with it (Interviewee 8). After that,
the government decided to participate fully in the cost of the meter itself (around
$160) (nowadays they cover 50% of the cost) and install it for free for the citizens
(ibid). Although the project was on a national level, the main target group for the
government was the large municipalities with large debts (e.g Hebron, Tulkarem and
Nablus) as such places will cover a good percentage of their general debts.
However, the government was unable to fund the cost of the meters as per their
incentive program in large municipalities such as Tulkarem and the project was not
applied in these areas while it succeeded in small communities and rural areas
(Interviewee 4). Beside the insufficient funds, one of the main reasons that pushed
the project back in these areas is the refusal of people who are taking advantage of
not having PWM, especially if they have some power of influence in municipal
decisionmaking (e.g, businessmen). These people usually are the ones with the
65
highest debts (some of them reach US$25,000-30,000) and they are not willing to
pay this debt (JLAC, 2019; Interviewee 2; Interviewee 3; Interviewee 4). Ordinary
citizens are easily influenced by these people and affected by what they say which
sometimes might be against the project. Moreover, large municipalities (who report
to MoLG) usually have their own water wells and resources and do not purchase
water in large quantities from WBWD or PWA, which doesn’t put them under
pressure to follow their guidelines and regulations to have PWM (Interviewee 8).
Also, unlike small LGUs, large municipalities have different sources of income (i.e.
taxes) so they do not depend a lot on the water revenues to run the municipality. All
of that besides the lack of a proper enforcement mechanism from the government
and the existence of organized crime in these areas, resulted in not applying the
project in large municipalities (Interviewee 4; Interviewee 5; Interviewee 8).
The West Bank Water Department is in charge of bulk water distribution in the West
Bank (WBWD). The WBWD manages wells and buys bulk water from Israel
(Mekorot) to sell to SPs, as well as operating part of the PWA's wells (World Bank,
2018). The 2014 Water Law calls for the creation of a National Water Company
(NWC), which would serve both the West Bank and Gaza (GWP, 2015). Currently,
the Palestinian government suffers from insufficient funding and Mekorot does not
wait until the cost of the purchased quantities is transferred to it from the Palestinian
Authority. It deducts this money from the clearance tax money that Israel takes on
behalf of the Palestinians (WSRC, 2020). This puts the Palestinian government into
the threat of lack of income as they are not getting their full taxes and lack of money
budgeting and distribution since they cannot control the share of each sector they
want to support within the country. However, PWMs can help fixing this problem as
the money will be collected from the citizens first before paying it to Israel and getting
all the benefits from the cash of the full tax money (Interviewee 4).
The Palestinian need during the interim five years period, as stated in the Oslo
Agreement in 1995, was 118 mcm per year to be extracted from previously untapped
sources in the Mountain Aquifer's eastern basin. The plan was not carried out due to
the political climate, the existence of the separation wall/apartheid wall that
separates Palestinians from these wells, and the prohibition on drilling new wells.
That made the Palestinians to become reliant on purchasing water from Israel rather
66
than extracting water directly from the aquifer (World Bank, 2018). Which means that
Israel can control the quantity to be sold to the Palestinians and that can change
from one month to another (Interviewee 4). This caused serious problems in the
planning efforts of the Palestinians when it comes to the future of the water sector. It
puts the government in front of a lot of limitations that make them not sure about
their plans since they don't know exactly the quantities they will be receiving each
month from Israel, which subjects all the planning efforts to high risks and levels of
uncertainty (Interviewee 4; Interviewee 8). The political issue is one of the major
issues that are facing the planning in Palestine. These political issues do not only
affect the Palestinian efforts in planning, but also the donors who try to support
specific Palestinian communities; they need to follow what the Israelis say, not what
they think it is right to do. If the Israelis told them, we will provide you with some
water quantities but from Jenin area, the donors will go and work in Jenin area while
there is a necessity in Ramallah for this project for example (Interviewee 4).
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Chapter 6: Conclusion
6.1 Overall Learnings
The United Nations are targeting a safe and affordable access to drinking water by
2030. As water scarcity is an increasing problem all over the world now, new
methods to secure drinking water are required. One of them is working on
developing water desalination plants and water recycle. However, these require
more water resources. On the other hand, the other way is by following and
developing new innovative sustainable urban water management systems that takes
sustainability as priority number one and develop new ways for better supply and
demand management. One of these solutions is the digital prepaid water meter
(PWM) that is part of the neoliberal policies philosophy and an extreme example of
applying complete cost recovery directly to the household level, making it easier to
manage and budget. It also works as a demand management tool trying to save
water quantities, enhance water service providers efficiencies and work towards
social equity.
The aim of the study is to see how digital prepaid water meters interpret and
implement the three pillars of urban sustainable development (economic,
environment and social equity) and if this implementation influences the local
infrastructure management policies and politics. A literature review was done at the
beginning and a case study about the digital prepaid water meters in Palestine was
chosen. The data was gathered through a desk-based study, interviews and
participant observation by attending two online events. Martin et al. (2018)
conceptual framework about the tensions between the smart cities and urban
sustainable development was chosen to study the case. In addition to policies and
politics. These seven tensions were categorized into five categories that were used
to analyze the findings (Policies and Regulations, Economic, Consumption, Social
Equity and finally Politics).
The findings show that the main aim of the project was to reduce the general water
debt of the service providers that accumulated over the last years. The water sector
in Palestine is in a transitional period from the old water law of 2002 to the new water
68
law of 2014 that has been going on slowly for the last 7 years. The fragmentation of
the water supply across a large number of service providers (more than two hundred
and fifty service provider SP) that follow different governmental institutions show that
there is a governance issue in the sector. This fragmentation and the lack of
clarification of regulations are main push back factors that affected the spread of the
PWMs among the different SPs specially large municipalities. The creation of the
WSRC, the national water company and the 2014 water law are all steps helping in
achieving a good governance for the sector. The idea of PWM came not only as a
cost and debt collection tool but also as a sector regulating tool since after the
implementation of PWMs, all water revenues that were collected by the SPs (LGUs)
were reported to PWA and WBWD which helps in implying the new regulations of the
2014 water law.
From economic point of view, the findings show that a combination of high non-
revenue water, inadequate tariffs, and low collection rates undermine the financial
viability of most SPs. However, PWMs help in achieving a break even financially by
covering their operational and maintenance costs through collecting the current
water costs and part of the old debt. This can help the SPs to improve their
performance, expand the service area and reduce the NRW. Consumers also find
the PWMs to be more convenient as now they are paying less than before for their
water bills. That is due to the new tariff law that is part of the government incentive
program and because they stopped the water wasteful practices.
Consumption was the third category discussed in the project and the findings show
that PWMs help to change the behavior of consumerism for the citizens and stop the
wasteful practices of water as the level ownership increases and people “feel” the
value of the water they consume. As a result, this behavioral change decreased the
water bills for residents and created an incentive for them to pay more attention and
eliminate unnecessary water usage which saved large quantities of water. Also that
increased the water availability for citizens even sometimes with no additional
resources which positively affected the health and hygiene sides of their lives.
A strong debate is still going on when it comes to social equity. Human rights
agencies argue that SPs are commodifying water and a profit-making exercise
69
instead of a social service that must be provided for all. They also argue that PWMs
are mainly applied and affecting citizens with limited income, while more powerful
people (with huge water debt) are not being enforced for the PWMs. On the other
hand, the government argue that the system has smart features to take into
consideration the social aspect; water will not cut-off in case of holidays or
emergencies. Also, poor and marginalized people can get water in a different tariff
which preserve the social equity side.
Finally, internal and external politics play a big role in the this subject. Internally,
there are different stakeholders with different intentions regarding the PWMs project.
The government in trying to push forward with the project by creating different
incentive programs encouraging people and SPs to adopt the PWMs to mainly
reduce the general debt of water and pay Mekorot in regular bases instead of letting
Israel to deduct the money from the Palestinian clearance tax money. On the other
hand, powerful citizens (e.g. businessmen and organized crime) who have huge
water debts are trying to influence the SPs and the society in order to refuse the
PWMs project. Externally, Israel is not committed with the agreements that are
signed with the Palestinians to give them their right share of the groundwater and
trying to delay the final negotiations regarding water that would increase the
Palestinian share of water resources to be able to handle the water scarcity in such a
semi-arid region.
6.2 Suggestions for future research and concluding remarks
In this research, findings were drawn from literature review, desk-based studies and
the case study through interviews and participation observations. They were
analyzed afterward according to the adapted conceptual framework. In such a
research that includes a case study and interviews, the findings are dependent on
the stakeholders and their availability. It worth mentioning that the results presented
in the report are not all the obtained ones. That does not mean that the rest are out
of relevance, but due to time and resources limitations, these results were prioritized
to show the full picture of the project.
70
In this research, almost all stakeholders were interviewed. Due to current COVID-19
restrictions, these interviews were conducted online. However, for future research, it
worth having a site visit to see the real application of the PWMs in real life and
observe all the hinders and opportunities that might happen. Also, citizens are an
important stakeholder in this project, so a representative sample should be
interviewed to peruse a holistic complete picture about the project. Currently, the
Palestinian government is in the process of establishing the national water company
and the PWA is evaluating a new type of PWMs that has more features than the
current one. So, a reevaluation for the system can be done after fully applying the
2014 water law, creation of the national water company and usage of the new
PWMs.
To conclude this study, it should be highlighted again that the relation between
digitalizing the water meters and sustainability has been studied through the different
five categories that were adopted from the conceptual framework (Policies and
Regulations, Economic, Consumption, Social Equity and finally Politics). The findings
showed clear links between the PWMs and the studied aspects that promote PWMs
as a way to achieve a more sustainable water sector and help reducing the effects of
the water scarcity problem.
71
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Appendices
Appendix 1 – Information Sheet and Consent Form
Prepaid Digital Water Meters and the Challenges of Sustainable Innovation
Information Sheet You are being invited to take part in a research study on digitalization of water infrastructure. Participation in this study is voluntary. Before you decide to participate, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it involves. Please take time to read this information sheet carefully and ask if anything is unclear. Project Information The aim of this project is to study the relation between the new technologies/digital tools (e.g prepaid water meters) and the urban water management from different perspectives (economic, social equity and environment). The researchers are interviewing decision makers, regulators, service providers, human rights agencies, academia and others who are involved in the prepaid water meters project. In the interviews, the researchers are asking participants about the prepaid water meters project being implemented in Palestine and the consequences of that on service providers, consumers and regulators. The project team includes Dr Andrew Karvonen and Ahmed Saleh at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. The project is not funded by any agency and it’s part of a degree project in urban and regional planning under the department of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE). Participation in the Study You have been chosen for an interview because you have experience in working in the prepaid water meters project at Jerusalem Water Undertaking. The project team is interviewing 8 individuals in Palestine. If you choose to participate, the researchers will ask you a series of questions to elicit your opinions about the implementation of the prepaid water meters and the operation. The interview will be recorded on a digital voice recorder and will last about 60 minutes. Information from the interview will be analysed by the research team to identify themes and key insights. The findings will be reported as part of this master thesis. If you choose to participate, you will be identified in the project outputs by your name and your employer. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please let the researcher know and you will be assigned a pseudonym. In either case, the researchers will not publish your contact information (telephone number, email address, etc.) or share it with anyone without your consent. Further Information For further information about the project, please contact: Dr Andrew Karvonen, [email protected] Ahmed Saleh, [email protected]
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Prepaid Digital Water Meters and the Challenges of Sustainable Innovation Consent Form
Please read and initial the appropriate boxes: Please
initial
I confirm that I have had time to read the information sheet provided and have had an opportunity to ask questions and have these answered to my satisfaction. I understand that my participation in the study is voluntary, and that I am free to withdraw at any time, for any reason, and without personal detriment. I understand that my responses may be included in project outputs including presentations and publications. Optional I understand that the interview will be audio-‐recorded and transcribed, and all collected data will be securely stored.
I agree to take part in the research project.
________________________________ ________________________________ __________
Name of Participant Signature Date
________________________________ ________________________________ __________
Name of Researcher Signature Date
One copy of this form will be placed in the researcher’s files in a secure location for a period of ten years. A second copy will be given to the participant in the event that there are any questions or concerns about the project at any time in the future. For further information about the project, please contact: Dr Andrew Karvonen, [email protected] Ahmed Saleh, [email protected]
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Appendix 2 - Semi-structures Interview Questions
Interview Strategy:
● Around 8 interviewees ● Interviewees are from: Water Sector Regulatory Council (WSRC), Palestinian
Water Authority (PWA), Jerusalem Water Undertaking (JWU), Union of Palestinian Water Services Providers, Academia, Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC).
● Location: mostly via Zoom OR via telephone (when needed) ● Duration: around 60 mins
Introduction:
1. What is your background? What is the role of the institution you are working in? What is your specific role?
Governance Theme:
2. Given the fact that the water sector in some regions of Palestine is controlled by the municipalities only (e.g Nablus) while in other regions is controlled by a public-private partnership party (e.g Ramallah); What is the governance approach followed in all these areas? Is it the same or different? If it’s different, then what are the difficulties facing each region (governance point of view)? And what are the difficulties facing applying the prepaid water meters project in each region?
3. What is the government action plan in facing the future challenges coming from population growth, climate change, water scarcity and the environmental impacts of traditional urban water management systems?
4. From your own perspective; how do you describe a smart city? How is it applied in your field? What is the government/municipality vision when it comes to smart cities and the water sector? How do you think that would affect the water governance approach being currently followed?
5. What is your understanding of the sustainable city? How would the water infrastructure contribute to achieving that? Does your institution have anything on the agenda in order to achieve this?
Prepaid water meters Project:
6. What are the aims of the project? And when was the official start of the project?
7. Who is the target group of the project? (low-income residents, high-income residents, everyone, residents with water debts…etc)
8. Is it a national project that will include all the areas after a certain period of time or is it only aiming for some regions?
9. What are the push factors for continuing this project? 10. What are the limitations affecting the project? 11. Are there any success stories in some regions where all the meters in the
region were changed to prepaid ones? Any failures? Why? 12. Economic growth: In your opinion, what is the relation between the smart city
and economic growth? What is the relation between the current water management system and economic growth? How did the prepaid water
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meters project affect economic growth (from two perspectives: 1. The relation between the water service provider and the new technologies providers. 2. The relation between the water service provider and the citizens/water consumers) (e.g. relying a lot on new technologies? Reduce flow of resources? Reducing the water debt?)
13. How does the prepaid water meters project affect the social equity? Does it take into consideration the human rights perspective? Is it obligatory to change the after-paid water meter to a prepaid one or is it only for new customers? Does the consumer have a say in this?
14. What are the environmental consequences of having smart cities initiatives (the prepaid water meters project) in general?
15. How do smart city initiatives affect the culture of consumerism for the citizens? How do the prepaid water meters affect the culture of consumerism? Did that make any difference in the consumed water quantities?
16. Question about the future. How do you think pre-paid water meters will evolve in the future? Will they become ubiquitous? Will this approach be adopted for other utilities?
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Appendix 3 – Roles and Responsibilities of Water Sector
Entities As Defined By The Palestinian Water Law of 2014.
Function By Overseers/ Parties
Allocation of water resources PWA Other official and relevant authorities
Preparing general water policies, strategies and plans, seeking approval thereof, and ensuring their implementation
PWA Relevant parties, as well as the Cabinet of Ministers
Protection zones to prevent pollution PWA In cooperation and coordination with relevant authorities
Licensing and development of Water Resources and utilization
PWA In cooperation and coordination with the relevant authorities
Measures and plans as required to establish and develop the National Water Company and the Regional Water Utilities
PWA In coordination with the relevant authorities
Supervising the organization of awareness raising campaigns in the sphere of water and wastewater and promoting the use of water saving fixtures
PWA In coordination and cooperation with the relevant authorities
The development of plans and programs for capacity building, training and qualification of technical staff working in the water sector and supervising their implementation with the aim of improving the management of water resources
PWA In cooperation and coordination with the relevant authorities
Equitable distribution and optimal use of water to ensure the sustainability of ground and surface Water Resources
PWA In cooperation and coordination with the relevant parties
Developing solutions and suitable alternatives in cases of emergency and contingency to ensure the continuity of water provision services
PWA In coordination with Service Providers and relevant parties
Scientific research and studies related to water and wastewater
PWA Specialized and relevant authorities
Partake in the development of approved standards of water quality for various uses
PWA In coordination and cooperation with the competent authorities
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All revenues collected PWA Deposit in the account of the Public Treasury
Accounts of the Authority and its records and all its financial affairs shall be regulated and audited
PWA Ministry of Finance and Planning
Head of PWA appointment PWA Presidential Decree upon the recommendation of the Cabinet of Ministers
Deputy Head PWA Decision of the Cabinet upon a recommendation from the Head of PWA
Preparation of budget and financial reports
Head of PWA
Cabinet of Ministers for approval
Signing local and international water agreements on behalf of the Government
Head of PWA
Prior authorization from the competent and relevant authorities
Preparation of periodic reports concerning the activities of PWA and quality of performance, and the proposal of solutions for overcoming obstacles that hinder the progress of work
Head of PWA
To the Cabinet of Ministers
Establishment WSRC Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers
Regulating WSRC WSRC Be pursuant to this law
Reporting WSRC Cabinet of Ministers
Appointing Board of Directors WSRC Presidential decree , Cabinet recommends
Board Remuneration WSRC Regulation by Cabinet
Performance incentives WSRC Regulation by Cabinet
Internal regulations WSRC Board
Approve and submit to Cabinet
Annual budget submittal WSRC Board
Approve and submit to Cabinet
Audited financial reports submittal WSRC Relevant authorities
Audit and review of finances WSRC Official monitoring authorities
Regulating staff WSRC Board recommends to Cabinet
Issuing licenses and fees PWA Regulation from Cabinet
Terms of license stipulate prior approval
PWA Competent authorities
Domestic harvesting PH and Environ standards
Relevant official authorities
Prior use rights of Springs/wells and fees
PWA Cabinet of Ministers
Licensing and registry and payments of fees
PWA Right for public access to information
Water and wastewater tariffs PWA Regulation from Cabinet
Unified Bulk Water tariff PWA Regulation from Cabinet
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Water prices Service Providers
WSRC approves based on tariff regulations
Regulation to create environment that would encourage private sector investment in water
PWA Cabinet of Ministers
Capital of National Water Company PWA Decision by Cabinet
Financial affairs of National Water Company
PWA and MoF
Regulation from Cabinet
Water supply tariff and related services proposal
PWA WSRC
Develop Unified Water Tariff Regulation
PWA
Board of National Water Company PWA Cabinet decision
Quarterly and annual reports NWC WSRC and Cabinet
Establishing Regional Water Authorities
PWA in coordination and cooperation with the relevant competent authorities
All matters RWAs Regulation from Cabinet
Provision of water and wastewater services
RWAs Regulation from Cabinet
Establishing Water Users Association, joint recommendation
PWA jointly with MoAg
Regulation from Cabinet
Protect water resources and facilities and prevent their pollution by partaking proactively
PWA Environmental Law and in coordination and cooperation with the authorities specialized in the protection of water resources and the prevention of their pollution
Regulation for protection of Water Resources and facilities
PWA PWA recommends and Cabinet issues
Consideration of Water Resource Protection Zone and publication of notice
PWA In coordination with other relevant parties and a regulation from Cabinet
Provide alternative resource to protected zone
PWA As may be available, or compensate for damage as per existing laws
Applying penalties to specific offences
PWA
Exercising current responsibilities Existing institutions
Till RWAs and WUAs are established
Rehabilitate facilities of West Bank Water Department and in the transition period
PWA Movable and immovable assets to PWA, powers and responsibilities to the National Water Company
83
West Bank Water Department final status
PWA All assets, powers and responsibilities to the National Water Company
Regulations to implementation the Law
PWA Cabinet issues regulations recommended by PWA
TRITA ABE-MBT-21645
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